A.F. Stewart's Blog, page 44
October 21, 2017
Book Spotlight: The Book of David: Chapter One
Today I have a spotlight for the horror novel, The Book of David: Chapter One by author Robert Kent. Enjoy...
The Book of David: Chapter One by Robert Kent
"The Lord has appointed you to a special duty in these last days and given your life a unique purpose. Will you turn away from the myriad temptations of this wicked world and answer His righteous calling?"
The Walters family has just purchased the perfect home if only it weren't located in the small hick town of Harrington, Indiana, and if only it weren't haunted. David Walters is an atheist now, but his minister father taught him from a young age that Satan would one day deceive all mankind by pretending his demons were extraterrestrials. The day the Walters family moves in, they spot a flying saucer outside their new home. Things only get stranger from there. David Walters is about to learn what it means to be truly haunted, forcing him to confront his past, fight for his family, his soul, and his sanity.
The Book of David: Chapter One can be found on:
Amazon
Author Bio:
Robert Kent is the author of the horror novels THE BOOK OF DAVID and ALL TOGETHER NOW: A ZOMBIE STORY, the middle grade novel BANNEKER BONES AND THE GIANT ROBOT BEES, and the novellas PIZZA DELIVERY and ALL RIGHT NOW: A SHORT ZOMBIE STORY.
He runs the popular blog for writers, MIDDLE GRADE NINJA, which features interviews and guest posts from over 500 authors, literary agents, and other publishing professionals, and was the recipient of Middle Shelf Magazine’s Best Blog award. He is a proud member of SCBWI, The Horror Writers Association of America, and the Young Adult Cannibals. Robert Kent holds degrees in Literature and Creative Writing from Indiana University and owns over 900 Batman action figures. He lives with his family in Indianapolis where he teaches courses at the Indiana Writers Center and is hard at work on his next book.
Website: MIDDLEGRADENINJA.COM
The Book of David: Chapter One by Robert Kent
"The Lord has appointed you to a special duty in these last days and given your life a unique purpose. Will you turn away from the myriad temptations of this wicked world and answer His righteous calling?"
The Walters family has just purchased the perfect home if only it weren't located in the small hick town of Harrington, Indiana, and if only it weren't haunted. David Walters is an atheist now, but his minister father taught him from a young age that Satan would one day deceive all mankind by pretending his demons were extraterrestrials. The day the Walters family moves in, they spot a flying saucer outside their new home. Things only get stranger from there. David Walters is about to learn what it means to be truly haunted, forcing him to confront his past, fight for his family, his soul, and his sanity.
The Book of David: Chapter One can be found on:
Amazon
Author Bio:
Robert Kent is the author of the horror novels THE BOOK OF DAVID and ALL TOGETHER NOW: A ZOMBIE STORY, the middle grade novel BANNEKER BONES AND THE GIANT ROBOT BEES, and the novellas PIZZA DELIVERY and ALL RIGHT NOW: A SHORT ZOMBIE STORY. He runs the popular blog for writers, MIDDLE GRADE NINJA, which features interviews and guest posts from over 500 authors, literary agents, and other publishing professionals, and was the recipient of Middle Shelf Magazine’s Best Blog award. He is a proud member of SCBWI, The Horror Writers Association of America, and the Young Adult Cannibals. Robert Kent holds degrees in Literature and Creative Writing from Indiana University and owns over 900 Batman action figures. He lives with his family in Indianapolis where he teaches courses at the Indiana Writers Center and is hard at work on his next book.
Website: MIDDLEGRADENINJA.COM
October 19, 2017
The Thirst For Escapism And The Need For Fantasy: A Guest Post by Mark Maguire
Today I have an guest on the blog, Mark Maquire, author of the Alexandria Rising Chronicles, who chats about the importance of fantasy in literature.
The Thirst For Escapism And The Need For Fantasyby Mark Maguire
“You should really work on publishing that semi-autobiographical book you wrote, “The Preacher’s Son.” There is a lot of good stuff in there on religion, race, Southern culture, fractured father-son relationships, real good dark stuff that could sell.”
I’ve heard that sentiment echoed the last several months. I did write said book, “The Preacher’s Son,” several years ago. And while it does have some strong story points, I am happy to leave it in my drawer. Dust laden and undistributed for a long time, perhaps, forever, its 120,000 words quietly collecting dust. Why? A few reasons.First of all, It was great therapy to write that book. I needed it. But, it was also painful and now that it has been exhumed from my system, I have no desire to revisit it. Even attempting to re-edit it has proved to an exercise in dark exertion.Secondly, after having a close-enough-to-death experience in a cycling accident a few years ago, I decided that life was too short to do something one did not like i.e. if I was going to write another book, I wanted it be fun.Fun to write.Fun to read.The type of book I like to read.Ludlum-laced tension. Tolkien-striving world creation. Dan Brown pacing. T.S. Eliot and Dante inspired symbolism. Mysteries. Clues. Hints. Loss of truth. Cold-blooded villains. Broken heroes. Mysterious maps.I suppose it was that amalgamation in my conscious and subconscious of those elements that birthed, “The Alexandria Rising Chronicles.” It is a series I enjoy writing and as I have told people again and again, “I hope that shines through.”(By the way, writing is fun, editing and proofing and researching are work)Through many, many years of writing in many forms, I have discovered that reading to escape, to create and to – yes, it is very low brow to state – have fun is key to a pleasant existence.And I say this, not as a naïve dreamer, but as a hardened English major who survived Victorian literature – if you ever have a chance to read, ‘Dombey and Son’ by Charles Dickens, don’t – and as someone who has worked in journalism for almost two decades.So, like those who read to escape.I write to escape.You see, it is much more fun and healthier to slay a villain after verbally annihilating him, than it is to do so to a colleague or someone who cuts you off in traffic.There is also the fact that sometimes we all need to escape. This world is not perfect, we’re all fighting some type of battle. Those we love die. Those we expect so much from, let us down. We let others down. Bills pile up. The car breaks down. Injustice and hypocrisy is everywhere.So, again, back to the point.Writing and reading to escape.I often like to refer to J.R.R. Tolkien when I talk about this type of borderline apologetics for writing escapism. Tolkien went to World War I along with 17 of his classmates at Oxford.Only two returned.Two.After surviving the gore of the Somme, he was quoted as saying:“I have been a lover of fairy-stories since I learned to read,” he later wrote in an essay in which he passionately defended fantasy and “escapist” fiction: “Why should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if, when he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls?”Here, here.And as a side note, “The Alexandria Rising Chronicles” has just been the start of this new chapter – pun intended – in my creative life. I’ve also recently begun two young adult novels which take place on other planets. I suppose if one is to go all out, well, let’s go all the way.
For more on Mark Maguire and his books, please check out his Website.
The Thirst For Escapism And The Need For Fantasyby Mark Maguire
“You should really work on publishing that semi-autobiographical book you wrote, “The Preacher’s Son.” There is a lot of good stuff in there on religion, race, Southern culture, fractured father-son relationships, real good dark stuff that could sell.”I’ve heard that sentiment echoed the last several months. I did write said book, “The Preacher’s Son,” several years ago. And while it does have some strong story points, I am happy to leave it in my drawer. Dust laden and undistributed for a long time, perhaps, forever, its 120,000 words quietly collecting dust. Why? A few reasons.First of all, It was great therapy to write that book. I needed it. But, it was also painful and now that it has been exhumed from my system, I have no desire to revisit it. Even attempting to re-edit it has proved to an exercise in dark exertion.Secondly, after having a close-enough-to-death experience in a cycling accident a few years ago, I decided that life was too short to do something one did not like i.e. if I was going to write another book, I wanted it be fun.Fun to write.Fun to read.The type of book I like to read.Ludlum-laced tension. Tolkien-striving world creation. Dan Brown pacing. T.S. Eliot and Dante inspired symbolism. Mysteries. Clues. Hints. Loss of truth. Cold-blooded villains. Broken heroes. Mysterious maps.I suppose it was that amalgamation in my conscious and subconscious of those elements that birthed, “The Alexandria Rising Chronicles.” It is a series I enjoy writing and as I have told people again and again, “I hope that shines through.”(By the way, writing is fun, editing and proofing and researching are work)Through many, many years of writing in many forms, I have discovered that reading to escape, to create and to – yes, it is very low brow to state – have fun is key to a pleasant existence.And I say this, not as a naïve dreamer, but as a hardened English major who survived Victorian literature – if you ever have a chance to read, ‘Dombey and Son’ by Charles Dickens, don’t – and as someone who has worked in journalism for almost two decades.So, like those who read to escape.I write to escape.You see, it is much more fun and healthier to slay a villain after verbally annihilating him, than it is to do so to a colleague or someone who cuts you off in traffic.There is also the fact that sometimes we all need to escape. This world is not perfect, we’re all fighting some type of battle. Those we love die. Those we expect so much from, let us down. We let others down. Bills pile up. The car breaks down. Injustice and hypocrisy is everywhere.So, again, back to the point.Writing and reading to escape.I often like to refer to J.R.R. Tolkien when I talk about this type of borderline apologetics for writing escapism. Tolkien went to World War I along with 17 of his classmates at Oxford.Only two returned.Two.After surviving the gore of the Somme, he was quoted as saying:“I have been a lover of fairy-stories since I learned to read,” he later wrote in an essay in which he passionately defended fantasy and “escapist” fiction: “Why should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if, when he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls?”Here, here.And as a side note, “The Alexandria Rising Chronicles” has just been the start of this new chapter – pun intended – in my creative life. I’ve also recently begun two young adult novels which take place on other planets. I suppose if one is to go all out, well, let’s go all the way.
For more on Mark Maguire and his books, please check out his Website.
October 15, 2017
#OctoberFrights Dark Poetry Corner
Welcome to final day of the October Frights Blog Hop!
Today I bring you my annual dark Poetry Corner, and a spotlight on my newly released book, Horror Haiku Pas de Deux. Oh, and a freebie. Enjoy.
First a poetic teaser...
Second a spotlight...
Horror Haiku Pas de Deux by A. F. Stewart
In the shadows—voices.
Calling, screaming, moaning.
Countless tongues telling tales...
of Hell
of Monsters
and Unnatural Things
Come chase the dark words, fall into the spell of terror and sit with the poetic weaver as you watch the world burn. Horror Haiku Pas de Deux is a volume of poetry mixing horror with haiku and verse to chill your bones.
Poetic beauty lives forever with the undead.
Horror Haiku Pas de Deux is available all October for 99 Cents at
Smashwords Amazon Amazon Canada Kobo Barnes and Noble iTunes
Book Trailer
And now some poems...
He watches, he waits Do you see him? He sees you.Soon you will vanish
From Horror Haiku Pas de Deux© A. F. StewartAll Rights Reserved
Ever More
Tap, tap, come the raven,no, it is not himHe flies far above the pathas the light grows ever dim
Flee, flee, into the woodsignore the raven’s cawHear the silent monster marchto the cavern in the maw
Shush, shush, quiet nowthe raven circles hereThe Faerie Queen calls for youand all that you hold dear
From Horror Haiku Pas de Deux© A. F. StewartAll Rights Reserved
The Sound of Their Breathing
I watch the world inhale, exhaleeach fragile breath so slight;simple to asphyxiate, faces turning paleI watch the world inhale, exhaledreaming how to make them quail,to quiver in fear, to scurry in flightI watch the world inhale, exhaleeach fragile breath so slight
From Horror Haiku and Other Poems© A. F. StewartAll Rights Reserved
Play a Tune Nevermore
Eagles fly
from the labyrinth
of darkened halls
chased by ravens
and a mournful dirge.
© A. F. StewartAll Rights Reserved
And lastly, the freebie...
You can download my first volume of horror poetry, Horror Haiku and Other Poems from Instafreebie (no strings or conditions).
Horror Haiku and Other Poems
Well that's it for my Dark Poetry Corner and the October Frights Blog Hop. Be sure to enter our great giveaway and visit the other wonderful participants on this last day. Until next year!
October Frights Book Giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway ');
October 14, 2017
#OctoberFrights: Cemeteries and the Ghost of Marie Laveau
Welcome to Day Five of the October Frights Blog Hop!
I have a most delightful treat for you today, with a guest post from author Loren Roads who takes us to New Orleans with a tour of Saint Louis Cemetery #1 and its most famous resident, Marie Laveau. You can also check out her book, 199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die, featured at the end of the post. Enjoy!
Marie Laveau’s Ghost by Loren Rhoads
Like the cathedral in Jackson Square, New Orleans’ oldest surviving graveyard is named for Louis IX, the 13th-century king of France. He crusaded to the Holy Land twice and was canonized in 1297.Despite its historic importance, Saint Louis Cemetery #1 is only a shadow of its former self. The Varney family pyramid, now near the cemetery’s Basin Street gate, once stood at the geographic center of the graveyard. Built around 1810, the pyramid is one of the oldest tombs to survive.
Some of the most unusual aspects of Saint Louis #1 are the so-called oven vaults that line its perimeter. The niches in these tombs can be reused after a year and a day. The extreme heat and humidity in New Orleans reduces a corpse placed in one of these vaults to bones within the span of a year, after which time a second coffin can be pushed inside. The back of the vault opens into a chamber called a caveau, where the bones of everyone buried in that vault reside, jumbled together. In the city’s earliest days, there was no division between black and white in its graveyards or its caveaus. Segregation began only after America made the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.
The most famous resident of Saint Louis #1 isBefore her death, Marie worked as a hairdresser in New Orleans. She is credited with drawing the parallels between the Catholic saints and Voodoo loas and combining Voodoo with Catholicism. It’s said that Marie appears in the cemetery in the form of a large black crow or as a phantom hellhound. She grants wishes, sometimes, when it suits her.
Many believe Marie returns to life on Saint John’s Eve, which is celebrated on June 23. In the 1930s, a vagrant decided to spend the night in Saint Louis #1. He scaled a tomb and slept fitfully on its roof for several hours before being awakened by the sound of drums and chanting. As he wandered the labyrinthine cemetery, looking for the way out, he turned a corner to find ectoplasmic bodies writhing before a statuesque nude woman wrapped in a giant snake. Marie, in all her splendor, had come back to lead the dance.
Another evening, three young men who had been partying in the French Quarter dared each other to break into the cemetery and drive an iron spike into Marie Laveau’s tomb. Finally, after $30 had been held up as a reward, one man agreed. He jumped the wall and disappeared into the maze of tombs.
Half an hour passed. An hour. The men left behind began to sober up. They cursed their friend, whom they expected had fallen asleep somewhere inside the graveyard. When dawn came and the gates finally opened, they rushed into the cemetery, ready to rouse their comrade.
Instead, they found his corpse collapsed beside Marie Laveau’s tomb.
The dead man had hammered his iron spike into the tomb — through the tail of his coat. When he rose to collect his winnings, something unseen held him to the grave. He died in a panic.
St. Louis Cemetery #1 is one of the 199 Cemeteries to See Before You Dieby Loren Rhoads. She is also the author of Wish You Were Here: Adventures in Cemetery Travel and writes about graveyards for the Horror Writers Association. She blogs about cemeteries as vacation destinations at cemeterytravel.com.
199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die by Loren Rhoads
A hauntingly beautiful travel guide to the world's most visited cemeteries, told through spectacular photography and their unique histories and residents.More than 3.5 million tourists flock to Paris's Père Lachaise cemetery each year. They are lured there, and to many cemeteries around the world, by a combination of natural beauty, ornate tombstones and crypts, notable residents, vivid history, and even wildlife. Many also visit Mount Koya cemetery in Japan, where 10,000 lanterns illuminate the forest setting, or graveside in Oaxaca, Mexico to witness Day of the Dead fiestas. Savannah's Bonaventure Cemetery has gorgeous night tours of the Southern Gothic tombstones under moss-covered trees that is one of the most popular draws of the city.
199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die features these unforgettable cemeteries, along with 196 more, seen in more than 300 photographs. In this bucket list of travel musts, author Loren Rhoads, who hosts the popular Cemetery Travel blog, details the history and features that make each destination unique. Throughout will be profiles of famous people buried there, striking memorials by noted artists, and unusual elements, such as the hand carved wood grave markers in the Merry Cemetery in Romania.
You can find 199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die at:
Amazon Barnes & Noble Indiebound
You can also find her book Wish You Were Here: Adventures in Cemetery Travel at Amazon.
That's it for day five, be back tomorrow for the final day and my dark poetry corner. And don't forget to enter our giveaway and check out the other hop participants.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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October 13, 2017
#OctoberFrights: The 13: Tales of Illusory
Welcome to Day Four of the October Frights Blog Hop on this wonderful Friday the 13th!
Today, not only do I have October Frights, but the blog has joined the The 13: Tales of Illusory Blog Tour!
As part of that tour I'm spotlighting both book and author, so check out The 13: Tales of Illusory by Stephanie Ayers...
The 13: Tales of Illusory by Stephanie Ayers
Can you survive all 13?
13 enchanted horrors. 13 spine-chilling tales. Down, down in the depths they fell, bodies in the dark of a liquid hell. Can you survive all 13?
You can find The 13: Tales of Illusory at:
Amazon Smashwords Pronoun Goodreads Draft2Digital Barnes and Noble Kobo iTunes Playster Inktera
Here's a teaser from one of the book's stories, On the Ninth Day
Four sets of eyes stared at Cassidy through her curtains. They hovered there, in the shade of the tall trees that surrounded her domain. Ever since she found the severed head of Mimir, the last of Odin’s magical artifacts, and unlocked Odin’s 18th song, they’d been there—two ravens and two wolves. The severed head’s prediction of death scared her enough, but now the animals visited her dreams as well and kept her awake at night...
About the Author
A published author with a knack for twisted tales, Stephanie Ayers is the Executive Creative Director of OWS Ink, LLC, a community for writers and readers alike. She loves a good thriller, fairies, things that go bump in the night, and sappy stories. When she is not writing, she can be found in Creative Cloud designing book covers and promotional graphics for authors.Stephanie Ayers is a published speculative fiction author, full-time world-building ninja, and graphic designer from central Virginia crafting her own story and resisting adulthood at all costs. She mothers her children, two cats, and a pitbull; neglects housework as often as possible; loves her husband; and avoids all things zombies.
Stephanie has been a regular contributor and leader for Bloggy Moms and Just Be Enough and currently writes content for Our Write Side.
Bannerwing Books published her debut novella, Til Death Do Us Part, in 2013, and her work appears in several anthologies and collections, most notably The 13: Tales of Illusory, a collection of her short and scary stories. Her poetry has been published in Ambrosia, in magazines and literary journals.
Her favorite quote is: "The blank page is a canvas on which the writer paints a story."-Stephanie Ayers
You can find her on:
Facebook Twitter Blog Google+ LinkedIn Goodreads
Pinterest Instagram Bookbub Tumblr Amazon
A Few of Her Favorite Things:
Favorite Books: The Stand, Divergent, Through the Looking Glass, The Forgotten Garden, and Inkheart.
Favorite Songs: Anyway by Martina McBride, Chasing Cars by Soul Patrol, Dream On by Aerosmith, Nothing Else Matters by Metallica, Shape of You by Ed Sheeran and Maroon 5
Favorite Movies: Hope Floats, Divine Secrets of the Yaya Sisterhood, The Messengers, The Wizard of Oz, Mary Poppins
Favorite Foods: pizza, pasta, ice cream, chips, second breakfasts
Favorite TV Shows: Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Law & Order SVU, The Voice, This Is Us
Here are a list of the stops for The 13: Tales of Illusory tour:
The 13: Tales of Illusory Blog Tour
And now for our October Fright book Giveaway.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
For more of the October Frights Blog Hop check out these sites.
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October 12, 2017
#OctoberFrights: After Death
Welcome to Day Three of the October Frights Blog Hop.
Today I have two flash fiction stories about death, and the consequences about lingering beyond your allotted time. Enjoy...
Leftover
I died yesterday.A heart attack, I think. I remember a pain in my chest, down my arm, and not much else. I saw a flash of a hospital, maybe an operating room, and a voice saying, “time of death, 11:04 AM”.That’s when I woke up here.In my own bed.Yet… it’s not the same place.It is so silent here, a vast empty nothing of stillness. And I have no voice. I can’t talk, I can’t cry, I can’t even scream. The world around me is painted in shades of grey, a shrouded space of perpetual twilight. The air is cold and heavy, and it feels like it’s pressing on me. I can see the other world, the world of the living I suppose, like watching through dirty glass. I can see my husband crying when he’s alone. I think I can reach out and touch him. I know I can, I can feel it. I want to reach out… I need to reach out…He’s right there.Waiting.I need to feed.I’m so, so hungry.
~*~
Eternal
Death hates me.Why else would I still be here? Waiting.When I’m finally ready.Perhaps it’s my own fault, a taste of my own feckless behavior. So many times I smiled at him, made him wait for me, promised I would come to him. Then I slipped by him with a smile, another deal for more years, another life stolen to prolong mine.How many millennia did I cheat him of what I owed?I lost count. I’d wager he knows.I thought forever would never get stale.I had such hubris.Youth and beauty for eternity, laughing at Death as he chased me.Always winning.Always laughing.Until it stopped being amusing.I thought the game would last.I thought he loved me.Until he refused to play anymore.Now I am alone.Waiting for Death.Why won’t he come for me?
© A. F. Stewart 2017 All Rights Reserved
Don't forget to enter the giveaway!
October Frights Book Giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
And for more October Frights fun check out the other sites on the hop.
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October 11, 2017
The Return of Drabble Wednesday: #OctoberFrights Edition
Welcome to Day Two of the October Frights Blog Hop!
And the return of my Drabble Wednesday Feature!
Yes, those 100 word stories are back, creeping into your mind like oozing blood. Enjoy my trio of macabre tales, of strange things lurking in the night...
The Hags
The Hags, that’s what the locals called it. The spot on the river where three gnarled trees grew, all bent and twisted like crones, half-dead and barren. An eyesore in the light of day, but in the moonlight the trees held beauty.They held something else in the moonlight as well.My two sisters and I.We’re tied to the trees, you see, and the moon. Our magic bound to the spot where we died.Where we were murdered.They buried our bones under the roots, but our spirits...Well, soon we’ll be returning to the land of the living.
~*~
The Price of Tranquility
The water of the canal is still, reflecting the pale moonlight and the illuminated clouds. The rows of houses are silent, their inhabitants drifting in dreams and hushed slumber. On the surface all is peaceful. But only on the surface.It has been ever so in this city, for a darkness lingers beneath the serene beauty. Under the still calm of the water danger lurks. Creatures old, and hungry, nesting in the depths of the canals, watching the world above. Waiting.Until they see what they need. An unwary human, the solitary one, the one who disappears beneath the water.
~*~
No One Loves A Clown
Are you out there?Somewhere past the dark?I can hear you.It’s so cold here, so cold. I can’t even cry anymore; my tears are frozen.I’ve been here so long. Trapped in the cold and dark. I know you can hear me. I know you are out there.Is it a dream? Maybe. But you can still help me. Come a little closer.That’s right, let me see you.No wait, don’t run.Clowns aren’t scary. Really.We just want to be loved.Closer, that’s it.Aw, don’t scream.You’ll like it here with me, and the others.
~*~
© A. F. Stewart 2017 All Rights Reserved
And if you'd like to read more of my horror stories I have a free offering for you. Just sign up to my newsletter on Instafreebie and download the two book box set of my Killers and Demons series.
Killers and Demons
Or enter the giveaway for a chance to win my books and more!
October Frights Book Giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
And for more October Frights fun check out the other sites on the hop.
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October 10, 2017
Welcome to the #OctoberFrights Blog Hop and Dusk's Warriors!
Today begins the first day of the October Frights Blog Hop!
I have a week of delights for you, as do all the are lovely authors along this dark path known as October Frights. To kick things off, I have a peek at Emerian Rich's new vampire book, Dusk’s Warriors (we are also a stop on her Blog Tour) and an excerpt.
Take it away Emerian...
Since this is a horror crowd, I thought I’d share a particularly horrifying scene from my new novel Dusk’s Warriors.
Would you agree to do the Devil’s bidding if he presented you with a choice?
Pain or compliance?
Excerpt from Dusk’s Warriors
“I see. You’re fed up. You want out. You need some convincing.” Satan smiled, double rows of sharpened teeth gleaming in the dim light. “I can be very convincing.”Darkness grew in around them and the room spun. When light returned, they were in a different place. A deep pit stretched out before them with hundreds of bodies writhing in razor wire. The victims tried desperately to leave, to sit up, to extricate themselves from the wire, but could not. Bodies—bloodied and raw—undulated in the pit of hopelessness. Those that lay still appeared asleep or dead. Moans and screams echoed in the hot chamber. Ripping skin and puss-filled sores consumed Ridge’s vision as he wondered, could he withstand such pain?“Convinced yet?”Ridge couldn’t say a thing. He stood staring at the struggling bodies as they continued to fight their way out.Something bit him on his right forearm and he moved his jacket sleeve up to see what it was. A rip in his skin ached and bled. Some sort of metal object protruded from the wound. Ridge plucked it from his skin, but it didn’t come free easily. Something was attached to it and seemed to drag along his bone as he pulled. Yanking harder on the piece sent waves of pain throughout his arm and body. An inhuman moan escaped him as the object tore at the inside of his arm. The cord attached, didn’t seem to end.“Stop this!” Ridge yelled.“It’s only one piece on one location of your body. Think if you were in it all day and all night, forever. Think of the pain. Think of the agony. Think of the places it…might…
Dusk’s Warriors by Emerian Rich
Heaven has opened up and welcomed the vampires of Night’s Knights into a new reality. As they struggle to find their place in their new world, trouble brews on Earth.
Demon servant, Ridge, is causing havoc by gathering up all the souls on Earth that have been touched by immortality. When he injures one of the Night’s Knights crew, he launches a war between the vampires of Heaven, the Big Bad in Hell, and a mortal street gang of vigilante misfits.
Will Julien, Markham, and Reidar be able to defeat the evil that’s returned, or will they once again need Jespa’s help?
Praise for Dusk’s Warriors:
“All hail, the queen of Night's Knights has returned! Emerian Rich's unique take on vampires delights my black little heart.” ~Dan Shuarette, Lilith's Love
“A world of horror with realistic characters in a fast paced thriller you won't be able to put down.”~David Watson, The All Night Library
Praise for Night’s Knights: “Fresh, original, and thoroughly entertaining.” ~Mark Eller, Traitor
“Emerian brought the Vampire Novel back from the dead.” ~C. E. Dorsett, Shine Like Thunder
Available now at Amazon.com in print and eBook
Emerian Rich is an artist, horror host, and author of the vampire series, Night’s Knights. She is the hostess of the internationally acclaimed podcast, HorrorAddicts.net. Under the name Emmy Z. Madrigal, she writes the musical romance series, Sweet Dreams and she’s the Editorial Director for the Bay Area magazine, SEARCH. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and son.
Be sure to check out the other stops on the Dusk's Warriors Blog Tour
But first check out our giveaway.
October Frights Book Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
And for more October Frights fun check out the other sites on the hop.
');
I have a week of delights for you, as do all the are lovely authors along this dark path known as October Frights. To kick things off, I have a peek at Emerian Rich's new vampire book, Dusk’s Warriors (we are also a stop on her Blog Tour) and an excerpt.
Take it away Emerian...
Since this is a horror crowd, I thought I’d share a particularly horrifying scene from my new novel Dusk’s Warriors.
Would you agree to do the Devil’s bidding if he presented you with a choice?
Pain or compliance?
Excerpt from Dusk’s Warriors
“I see. You’re fed up. You want out. You need some convincing.” Satan smiled, double rows of sharpened teeth gleaming in the dim light. “I can be very convincing.”Darkness grew in around them and the room spun. When light returned, they were in a different place. A deep pit stretched out before them with hundreds of bodies writhing in razor wire. The victims tried desperately to leave, to sit up, to extricate themselves from the wire, but could not. Bodies—bloodied and raw—undulated in the pit of hopelessness. Those that lay still appeared asleep or dead. Moans and screams echoed in the hot chamber. Ripping skin and puss-filled sores consumed Ridge’s vision as he wondered, could he withstand such pain?“Convinced yet?”Ridge couldn’t say a thing. He stood staring at the struggling bodies as they continued to fight their way out.Something bit him on his right forearm and he moved his jacket sleeve up to see what it was. A rip in his skin ached and bled. Some sort of metal object protruded from the wound. Ridge plucked it from his skin, but it didn’t come free easily. Something was attached to it and seemed to drag along his bone as he pulled. Yanking harder on the piece sent waves of pain throughout his arm and body. An inhuman moan escaped him as the object tore at the inside of his arm. The cord attached, didn’t seem to end.“Stop this!” Ridge yelled.“It’s only one piece on one location of your body. Think if you were in it all day and all night, forever. Think of the pain. Think of the agony. Think of the places it…might…
Dusk’s Warriors by Emerian Rich
Heaven has opened up and welcomed the vampires of Night’s Knights into a new reality. As they struggle to find their place in their new world, trouble brews on Earth.
Demon servant, Ridge, is causing havoc by gathering up all the souls on Earth that have been touched by immortality. When he injures one of the Night’s Knights crew, he launches a war between the vampires of Heaven, the Big Bad in Hell, and a mortal street gang of vigilante misfits.
Will Julien, Markham, and Reidar be able to defeat the evil that’s returned, or will they once again need Jespa’s help?
Praise for Dusk’s Warriors:
“All hail, the queen of Night's Knights has returned! Emerian Rich's unique take on vampires delights my black little heart.” ~Dan Shuarette, Lilith's Love
“A world of horror with realistic characters in a fast paced thriller you won't be able to put down.”~David Watson, The All Night Library
Praise for Night’s Knights: “Fresh, original, and thoroughly entertaining.” ~Mark Eller, Traitor
“Emerian brought the Vampire Novel back from the dead.” ~C. E. Dorsett, Shine Like Thunder
Available now at Amazon.com in print and eBook
Emerian Rich is an artist, horror host, and author of the vampire series, Night’s Knights. She is the hostess of the internationally acclaimed podcast, HorrorAddicts.net. Under the name Emmy Z. Madrigal, she writes the musical romance series, Sweet Dreams and she’s the Editorial Director for the Bay Area magazine, SEARCH. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and son.
Be sure to check out the other stops on the Dusk's Warriors Blog Tour
But first check out our giveaway.
October Frights Book Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
And for more October Frights fun check out the other sites on the hop.
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October 9, 2017
The October Frights Blog Hop Preview
Tomorrow begins the wondrous spookfest that is the October Frights Blog Hop. For the next six days, from the 10th-15th, I'll be posting about horror books, sharing creepy stories and poems, and bringing you a cemetery guest post. This year's theme on my blog is Things That Go Bump In The Night.
Here's the schedule.
Day 1, Oct 10 –A book spotlight on Dusk's Warriors by Emerian Rich
Day 2, Oct 11 –The Return of Drabble Wednesday: October Frights Edition
Day 3, Oct 12 – Two flash fiction stories under the theme, After Death
Day 4, Oct 13 –An author and book spotlight on The 13: Tales of Illusory by Stephanie Ayers
Day 5, Oct 14 –A guest post by Loren Rhoads on cemeteries and the ghost of Marie Laveau.
Day 6, Oct 15 –My Dark Poetry Corner and a Horror Haiku Pas de Deux book spotlight
There's also a Giveaway.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
And on the 10th, here's who will be joining in the fun with me.
So come on back tomorrow and walk the dark path.
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September 12, 2017
Cover Reveal: Londinium (P.A.W.S. Saga 4)
Today I have a delightful treat for you, my minions, with the reveal of the brand new book cover for the next book in the P.A.W.S. Saga, Londinium. This book series is paranormal fantasy and is written by the talented author, Debbie Manber Kupfer.
The cover was created by the hugely talented Rachel Bostwick who also made the cover for the new box set of P.A.W.S. books (1 to 3) that is now available on Amazon.
So, without further ado, drum roll please...
Isn't that a terrific cover?
The P.A.W.S. Saga continues with Londinium.
Here's little snippet from the book.
“The pea soup has spoken,” said Caradog. “You are destined for Londinium.”
“Londinium?” asked Miri.
“It was the ancient city from which London sprang. The P.A.W.S. Institute of Londinium is the oldest in the world. It started before the city of today existed and straddles the old and the new.
Unfortunately, today it is run by a fool.”
Join Miri as she continues her journey through Umbrae and Londinium with the help of werecats, wild warlocks, an old dog, a duck, and a whole lot of pea soup.
Londinium (The P.A.W.S. Saga 4) on presale now.
Need to catch up?
You can do that all in one place with a brand new box set of books 1 to 3.
Now available on Amazon.
The cover was created by the hugely talented Rachel Bostwick who also made the cover for the new box set of P.A.W.S. books (1 to 3) that is now available on Amazon.
So, without further ado, drum roll please...
Isn't that a terrific cover?
The P.A.W.S. Saga continues with Londinium.
Here's little snippet from the book.
“The pea soup has spoken,” said Caradog. “You are destined for Londinium.”
“Londinium?” asked Miri.
“It was the ancient city from which London sprang. The P.A.W.S. Institute of Londinium is the oldest in the world. It started before the city of today existed and straddles the old and the new.
Unfortunately, today it is run by a fool.”
Join Miri as she continues her journey through Umbrae and Londinium with the help of werecats, wild warlocks, an old dog, a duck, and a whole lot of pea soup.
Londinium (The P.A.W.S. Saga 4) on presale now.
Need to catch up?
You can do that all in one place with a brand new box set of books 1 to 3.
Now available on Amazon.
