Maria Savva's Blog, page 7

Book Review: Unwed (Dovetail Cove, 1976), by Jason McIntyre

Unwed (Dovetail Cove, 1976) by Jason McIntyre

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I think I’m getting quite addicted to Jason McIntyre’s Dovetail Cove series. I’ve read about 4 or 5 of them so far and always look forward to reading another. Reading a book from this series really feels like stepping into a different time and place. The sense of being in another era is palpable. The main characters in all of the stories I’ve read so far have a larger than life quality about them, and this Dovetail Cove community is the type of place that could easily exist. With each story in the series we’re introduced to a new character, or perhaps a character who’s appeared in another one of the stories as a more minor character. Although it’s a series, the books can be read in any order.

In “Unwed” we meet Bexy McLeod. I haven’t read any other stories where she’s appeared, so she was a new character for me. This story is intriguing, quite chilling, and full of surprises. There’s an eerie quality to the character Mary Smithson; she’s introduced as an innocent young woman who has been taken advantage of but there’s a creepy quality about her and her story.

I don’t want to give too much away but what I will say is that “Unwed” is not for the squeamish. There is a horror story interwoven with stories of the everyday lives of this small community. The descriptive quality of “Unwed” was such that I could see the events happening as they were being told and some of the story is quite disturbing. It’s not an easy read but is told in a very engaging way. You could really imagine this kind of thing happening, and all the players in the story seem like real people. The events in this book take place in the '70s and it makes you think about how things have changed over the years in regard to certain social issues.

Jason McIntyre has a talent for creating realistic characters that you either love or hate, and the stories he writes are always engaging. I’ve probably said this before in a review, but I’d love to see Dovetail Cove as a TV series.

I’m now looking forward to reading another one of this series. The great thing is that there are so many to choose from. I hope the writer continues to be inspired by the characters of Dovetail Cove for years to come so that we can have more excellent reading material.



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Read my new short story "One Chance" in The Write Launch January edition!

My new short story, "One Chance", is featured in this month's The Write Launch.

The Write Launch is a fantastic online literary magazine that publishes new stories, poems, articles, and novel excerpts each month from up-and-coming writers.

"One Chance" is the final story from my collection "Out Of Time", which I hope to publish in paperback later this year.

You can read all the stories from "Out Of Time" free at The Write Launch!

Here's a link to "One Chance", which has a sci-fi theme: https://thewritelaunch.com/2017/12/on...



The title of the story was inspired by The Slow Readers Club's song of the same name (Listen here: https://open.spotify.com/album/3fE1dK...).

I've often used some of my favourite songs' titles as short story titles over the years. (I've made a playlist of the songs on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/user/1152427...)

Read the other stories from "Out Of Time" at the following links:

The Ring: https://thewritelaunch.com/2017/05/th...
Gunshot: https://thewritelaunch.com/2017/05/gu...
Change Of Heart: https://thewritelaunch.com/2017/07/ch...
In The Past: https://thewritelaunch.com/2017/08/in...
Family Ties: https://thewritelaunch.com/2017/09/fa...
The Games People Play: https://thewritelaunch.com/2017/10/ga...
Where Do We Go?: https://thewritelaunch.com/2017/11/wh...

Favourite reads 2017

Here's a list of ten of the best books I read this year.

If you're looking for something to read, try one of them - you won't be disappointed!

(Slight Return) - Neil Schiller



My review: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...

Buy links:
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B075PBR6F6/
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075PBR6F6/

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Dark Flash - Maria Haskins





My review: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...

Buy links:
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Flash-M...
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Flash-Mar...

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Redhead - Jason McIntyre




My review: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...

Buy links:

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Redhead-Dove...
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Redhead-Doveta...

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Condemned - Darcia Helle



My review: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...

Buy links:

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07562J92P
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07562J92P


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Dark Flash 2 - Maria Haskins



My review: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...

Buy links:

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0776NSXR2
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0776NSXR2

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Forever Freaky - Tom Upton



My review: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...

Buy links:

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Forever-Frea...
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Forever-Freaky...

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Deathbed - Jason McIntyre



My review: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...

Buy links:

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N1QQSDJ/
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N1QQSDJ/

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Invisible Victims - Kat McCarthy



My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Buy links:

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01...

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The Power of Now - Eckhart Tolle



My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Buy links:

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002361MLA
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002361MLA

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Stuff The Turkey - Tara Ford



My review: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...

Buy links:

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01...

Book Review: Dark Flash 2, by Maria Haskins

Dark Flash 2 by Maria Haskins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Maria Haskins is a poet as well as a fiction writer and I think this gives her a distinct edge when it comes to writing intricate and thought-provoking prose. Her fiction is faultless and the perfect sentences push the stories forward in a natural flow that entices the reader and keeps you hooked throughout. Her stories are gripping. Some are quite dark in theme and content but they are so addictive. This collection of 10 stories contains flash fiction written for a podcast. Each story was prompted by a photograph; links to those are included at the end of the book.

I enjoyed the whole collection. I had read a couple of the stories previously when they appeared on the author's website but on rereading they revealed more of their secrets. These are the types of stories that you can read over and over and still get something from them. They make you think, they make you wonder, and most of all they make you question what you are reading. This is one of the qualities of great literature, to entertain but also to inspire the reader and leave you with a feeling of wonder and also the feeling that you have just walked in another person's shoes for however long it took you to read the story. There are so many emotions and thoughts evoked by the stories.

This is quality speculative fiction that pushes the boundaries and makes you wonder about the boundaries between reality and fantasy. There are stories of angels, wolves, monsters, mermaids, and more. A really imaginative collection of stories expertly woven.



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My new short story, "Where Do We Go?" is featured in the December issue of The Write Launch!

The December issue of the online literary magazine The Write Launch has just been published. It features lots of great poetry, short stories, novel and novella excepts, and essays from up-and-coming writers.

My latest short story, "Where Do We Go?" is featured in the magazine this month. It's a story about unrequited love and it has a paranormal theme.

You can read the story by following this link: https://thewritelaunch.com/2017/11/wh...





"Where Do We Go?" will be featured in my upcoming collection of short stories, "Out Of Time", to be published next year.

Read six of my new short stories FREE at The Write Launch!

I've been working on a new short story collection this year. Each month, a new story from the collection has been featured at The Write Launch.

The Write Launch is a new literary fiction magazine that was launched in May 2017. It features lots of great short stories, poetry, articles, and novella/novel excerpts, from up-and-coming writers. If you haven't discovered it yet, follow this link to read the November issue: https://thewritelaunch.com/

This month's issue features my latest short story, "The Games People Play"

Here are a couple of brief excerpts from the story:

"At forty-five, and feeling slightly old, it boosted his ego to know that this young girl wanted to date him. She’d already said that she loved him: so innocent; yet to discover that love was an elusive fallacy, a playground for fools—a path leading only to disappointment or infinite loneliness, and that’s if you’re one of the lucky ones."

"He tried to focus on other things but his thoughts wandered to Olivia—they invariably did when anything in his life went wrong, as if an eternal circular pathway perpetually led back to her. Did she marry the man, the man with the face that frequently appeared in wishy-washy black and white flashbacks in Lucas’s mind? Were they still living together, happily, while his own life fell to pieces?"

Read more: https://thewritelaunch.com/2017/10/ga...




There are five more of my new stories, which you can read online at The Write Launch.

"The Ring": https://thewritelaunch.com/2017/05/th...
"Gunshot": http://thewritelaunch.com/2017/05/31/...
"Change of Heart": https://thewritelaunch.com/2017/07/ch...
"In The Past": https://thewritelaunch.com/2017/08/in...
"Family Ties": https://thewritelaunch.com/2017/09/fa...


My plan is to publish all the stories next year as a collection, titled "Out Of Time".

There are two more stories to come - one of which I am currently editing.

If you're a writer, you can also submit stories, poems, novel/novella excerpts, and articles. The site is very popular, so make sure you submit early in the month as the deadline each month is the 15th, due to the large amount of submissions that are received. The team at The Write Launch are very supportive of new writers and there are lots of great features to read there.

Book Review: (Slight Return), by Neil Schiller

by Neil Schiller

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


"(Slight Return)" is a collection of short stories and flash fiction that are inspired by music. Some of the story titles are song titles, others stories mention famous songs or musicians. Music and reading are two of my favourite things, so it was great to be able to find a book that combines the two.

"(Slight Return)" includes tales about fictional musicians and bands, and the highs and lows of the music business; there are stories about people whose lives revolve around music; other stories use songs or music to illustrate how music can influence and even change the course of people's lives. The author has included an introduction at the beginning explaining how the collection came about, and he has also made a Spotify playlist (https://open.spotify.com/user/1140326...) to accompany the book, which includes most—if not all—of the songs mentioned in the collection.

After I finished reading the first story, "Werner Herzog Gets Shot", I just knew this book would be something special. That story has a really thought-provoking ending. The whole books is so openly and honestly written and touches upon so many human experiences and emotions. There are some quite dark stories in the collection and there are many stories that are full of nostalgia. Some are very short pieces and some longer. The longest one, I think, is the last story, which is a wonderfully imaginative story set in the not-too-distant future; it is part prose and partly written in the form of a film script.

I can honestly say that I enjoyed every single one of these stories and I was sad to reach the end of the book. It's a collection of twenty stories that have the power to transport you to other places so that you are able to get into the characters' minds and see things from their perspective. The stories tell of ordinary people, ordinary lives, dreams, regrets, loss, and hope.

Neil Schiller is such a talented writer that he is able to play around with words and story structures to create some experimental and cutting edge fiction: some examples of this are, one of the stories includes alternative endings within the same story, and another story is written in a way that can only really be fully appreciated by reading the following story (amusingly titled 'dub remix').

Neil Schiller is a writer to watch and a writer to study. His writing is so powerful and yet seems so effortless. That's the mark of a writer who has spent years perfecting his craft. These are stories that will entertain and make you think. It's rare to come across a writer who has such skill and I'm so happy to have discovered his work. I'd also recommend his debut collection of short stories, Oblivious.



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Guest Post: UNWED, (A Dovetail Cove Novel), by Jason McIntyre

One of my favourite authors—who I am lucky enough to also call a friend—Jason McIntyre, will release another novel in his long-running Dovetail Cove series on Friday! "UNWED" is set in 1976. I have enjoyed all the stories I've read from this series so far. There is something intriguing about the setting and also the way Jason drip-feeds information about the characters' lives in each novel and novella. The stories are full of realistic characters and engaging storylines.

I invited Jason to the blog to tell us more about the latest book.

ABOUT THE BOOK





UNWED, A Dovetail Cove Novel, 1976

It’s January, 1976 and Bexy McLeod gets roped in to helping Dovetail Cove’s retired doc as he deals with St. Dominic’s latest problem. Having tangled with the town’s church-going community for years, Bexy knows she shouldn’t get involved. Wheelchair-bound after an accident left her a paraplegic, she might be the least-sensible choice. Trouble tends to follow the widow and the last thing Bexy needs is confrontation. But now she’s finding herself enamoured with the young woman she’s helping. Bexy may just have to go toe-to-toe with one of the most prominent members of Dovetail Cove’s upper crust…and its head priest.

MATURE THEMES and SUBJECT MATTER.


GUEST POST





“You are cordially invited to UNWED…”

by Jason McIntyre


“You called me charitable. You did. And I think that’s likely the best thing to help her. No. Wait. That’s exactly what I think she needs. And not just for Mary. For everyone.” —from UNWED

You’ve seen these people before. But not like this. Bexy McLeod is the damaged sort of character that populates nearly the entire town of Dovetail Cove. As a writer, she draws me in because—no matter the damage and betrayal she suffers—she keeps going. And she will until she draws her last breath.

In the creepy character-driven suspense book ‘UNWED’, we catch up with Bexy who first appeared in the startling novella, BLED. She’s trying to re-enter the life she once knew in this small town—a place which, on the surface, might look like every other small town you’ve ever visited, or even the neighbourhood where you grew up. Bexy fell away from her friends, even her family. After suffering a terrible accident that left her wheelchair-bound, she tried to find reason and meaning in the work of the church. But turmoil followed her there too. After a fundraising scheme, Bexy’s lost most of her money. And, be damned is she didn’t play a role in losing the money of many neighbours and townspeople too.

Not officially guilty of any wrong-doing, Bexy was shunned nonetheless. But now she’s back. And the townspeople simply aren’t having it.

No matter to Doc. He needs Bexy’s help with a young woman in St. Dominic’s choir. Mary Smithson has miraculously inherited a mansion on the posh Avenue in Dovetail Cove. And though an adult, Mary possesses the mental acuity of a young girl. If that wasn’t enough, she’s also finding mystery gifts left under her pillow at night from what she believes is the ‘toofairy.’

While UNWED takes place in 1976, its themes and characters still resonate with us today. The tendency of groups to follow the crowd, our often blind faith in leaders and trusted organizations, such things appeal to me as a storyteller and are timely in today’s world. You HAVE seen these people before. They are Bexy’s neighbours, yours too I’d wager.

UNWED is part of the Dovetail Cove saga of mystery, suspense and horror stories—a series that’s not really a series. I joke about this because the titles don’t follow any real order. They can be read alone or in groups, or one right after the other. They are solo books that comprise what I call a ‘mosaic’ novel—completely independent of chronological order because I wrote them as they made sense to me. Each one expands the larger Dovetail Cove narrative across the entire decade of the 70s and layers new detail into the tension and drama—and yes, startling suspense at times. So, while UNWED takes place in 1976, it certainly doesn’t need to be read after the Dovetail books that take place in 1971 through 1975.

Certainly, every story in the saga that one chooses to read will expand and elaborate on the mysteries surrounding this small island town and its inhabitants. But, by all means, if Bexy, Mary and the Doc intrigue you, start with them. Remember, the island is waiting for you. And it doesn’t forget.

The Dovetail Cove books so far:

1.   DEATHBED (1971)
2.   BLED (1972)
3.   FLED (1973)
4.   REDHEAD (1974)
5.   ZED (1975)
6.   UNWED (1976)
7.   SHED (1977)
8.   DREAD (1978)
9.   [ - coming soon - ] (1979)
10. [ - super mega finale - ] (1980)

Exclusive to Amazon for launch, pre-order UNWED until its release date on October 27:

US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B076BZ3Z5Z
UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B076BZ3Z5Z
CA: http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B076BZ3Z5Z
JP: http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B076BZ3Z5Z
FR: http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B076BZ3Z5Z
IT: http://www.amazon.it/dp/B076BZ3Z5Z
ES: http://www.amazon.es/dp/B076BZ3Z5Z
AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B076BZ3Z5Z
IN: http://www.amazon.in/dp/B076BZ3Z5Z
DE: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B076BZ3Z5Z
MX: http://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B076BZ3Z5Z
BR: http://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B076BZ3Z5Z
NL: http://www.amazon.nl/dp/B076BZ3Z5Z

Losing Addison, by Marty Beaudet

Quite a few years ago, Darcia Helle and I used to run an online writers' forum with our fellow writer Stacy Juba. It was called BestsellerBound.com - The name was thought up by Stacy, and the idea behind it was that we were all going to be bestselling authors one day :)

The site attracted a lot of members and was always buzzing with online chat about the highs and lows of writing.

I look back on the BestsellerBound years as some of the most enjoyable of my writing journey so far. It was great to interact with so many different independent authors. We all learned so much from each other. I think it helped to chat about our writing and editing/publishing problems, and it helped us all to develop our skills.

Over the 2-3 years (maybe more) that we ran the site, we also produced a few publications. Jason McIntyre and I wrote an online novella, "Cutting the Fat", which was available at Amazon for a while. That was a cool writing experiment where we wrote a chapter each, alternately. It was a lot of fun and the story turned out to be very popular.

The BestsellerBound Anthologies that we published are still available at Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...). They include short stories from many of the talented writers that were members of BestsellerBound.






I still keep in touch with many of the former BestsellerBound members. I made some really good friends on that site.

One of my friends from the BestsellerBound days contacted me recently about his exciting new project. Marty Beaudet, is about to shoot the film adaptation of his novella, "Losing Addison". He wrote the book online, on his blog, during the BestsellerBound days. He named a few of his characters after some of the authors from Bestsellerbound :)

One of the characters in the book was named after me. For legal reasons, he's changed the names of the characters for the film version, but the character he named after me is still called Maria, but is now Maria Sanchez.

I read the book back in 2011 and loved it. Here's the review I wrote after I'd read it:

I was hooked on this story from the start. I find the way it was written fascinating. The author literally dreamt this book, and then wrote it all out from his memory, without editing it. It's just perfect as it is! I heard about Marty Beaudet's experimental writing and, although curious, I didn't have time to go and read the serial as it was developing online. I finally found time to visit the blog and read the free online version when the author had already written 16 chapters. I read the whole thing in one sitting because it was that gripping!
Losing Addison is a psychological thriller exploring schizophrenia and the unexplained bond between twins. It's a story that will have you glued to the page. The suspense is well constructed and made me want to continue reading until I found out what was happening. The story unravels bit by bit, slowly revealing the reasons behind the characters' behaviour. Beaudet drip feeds the information in the most effective way, with flashback scenes and high drama. A wonderfully entertaining story. I'd recommend it to everyone who likes a good suspenseful thriller. And I am thrilled that the author chose to name one of the characters after me! My namesake appears in chapter 13!




The film crew have launched a Kickstarter campaign to help with production costs for "Losing Addison".

Check out the Kickstarter page here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...

There are many awesome 'rewards' that you can claim for pledging towards the film costs, for example if you pledge $50 you could spend a day with the cast and crew during filming. If you pledge $25 or more, you get a thank you in the film credits along with a print copy of the book. Check out the page for full details and the list of rewards.

Excerpt from the Kickstarter Campaign description:

"Losing Addison is a psychological thriller that came from a nightmare in 2011. Marty woke up from the nightmare early one morning, with every detail fresh in his mind, as though it were dictated to him so specifically and completely that he was able to write and subsequently publish it in novella form just fifteen days later.

We optioned the rights to Marty's nightmare and he adapted it for the screen in 2015. We have since developed the feature, and are ready to begin principal photography on October 16th of this year, 2017.

Losing Addison is a film about human nature, the different sides of every person, and how every human being has a good side, and a bad side."

Read more about it on the Kickstarter page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...

Follow the Facebook page to keep up with the news: https://www.facebook.com/LosingAddiso...

The official website for the film: https://www.losingaddisonmovie.com/

Book Review: "Condemned: An Overview of Execution Methods Throughout History" - by Darcia Helle

Condemned: An Overview of Execution Methods Throughout History by Darcia Helle

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I wasn't going to read this book because the idea of reading about execution methods seemed just a bit too dark (even for me... a dark fiction writer!). I did download a copy onto my Kindle, however, to support the writer as she's a brilliant fiction writer and I always enjoy her books. "Condemned" is her first non-fiction book. One day, I started reading it out of curiosity. I know from reading Helle's fiction that she is not someone who includes unnecessary gore in her books, even though she writes quite dark crime fiction. I was hoping that "Condemned" would not be too gruesome. Helle's writing style is engaging and the approach she's taken with this book is a kind of conversational study, looking at the history of execution. Because of the subject matter, there are some upsetting and hard-hitting parts, but I think that the writer has got the balance right so that it's not a painful read but is instead a fascinating one.

It's an eye-opener, both revealing and educational. I learned a lot about how the approach to execution has changed over the centuries, and the different methods that were/are used and why they were developed, etc.

It was interesting to read about how public executions were once a common thing. It really does make you think about human nature. The real life cases that are discussed in the book also make you wonder about the systems that are currently in place. Helle makes it clear in the book that she is against the death penalty but it's not a book about why capital punishment should be scrapped. It's, as the title states, an overview of the past and current systems. Helle has highlighted, using real case studies, many flaws with the lethal injection and electric chair methods that are still in use today in the USA.

This is a well-researched and an informative book. I would recommend it to anyone who would like to find out more about what types of methods of execution exist. It's probably not an exhaustive list but it covers many and varied methods and gives a succinct history. It also includes quotes from many people involved in the whole process, from those who invented the devices/methods to those who carry out, or have carried out, the executions.

"Condemned" is narrated in a clear and concise way. I was hooked from the start.

An insightful and thought-provoking read.



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