Steve Stred's Blog, page 43

3Q’s – Lindy Ryan leads us Into the Forest!

I love the variety of guests I’ve managed to get on 3Q’s. It’s been fun seeing how everyone develops their stories and creates their characters. It’s also been fun seeing their answers for the ‘fun’ questions, because let’s face it – a lot of interviews remain dead serious. I’m not a journalist, not a serious person and love making people laugh!

Which brings us to today’s awesome guest – Lindy Ryan. Lindy has her hands in a lot of different things going on at the moment – HWA stuff, movie stuff, book stuff and anthology stuff. Yesterday, a new anthology she’s curated arrived – Into the Forest – which boasts a stunning TOC.

Please welcome Lindy!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?
Lindy: I think the only consistent writing habit I have is total inconsistency. I do tend to do my best writing late at night or first thing in the morning, when there are few distractions and I can really get my head in the game. Oddly enough, I find that I do my best writing (and self-editing) usually sitting square in the middle of my bed or on a large stretch of open carpet and as offline as possible. I consider 1,000 words/day is a decent baseline, though I strive for a good 3k before I feel totally good about leaving my desk.

Steve: You decide to host a writer’s retreat. One weekend in a luxury house on an island. What three other authors do you invite to come along?
Lindy: How do I answer this without leaving out so many amazing friends and peers in the horror industry? I’ll go with some horror pioneers then and invite Mary Shelley, Oscar Wilde, and Edgar Allan Poe, because wouldn’t that be a fun group to have in one room?! I’d ask Mary about how she stuffed it to Percy and Lord Byron that fateful weekend, listen in tearful agony to Oscar talk about his time as a prisoner due to “indecency”, witness firsthand Poe’s melancholy and irritability. I think it would be utterly fascinating.

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!
Lindy: A women-in-horror anthology, INTO THE FOREST: Tales of the Baba Yaga is upcoming on November 8th. As the editor, I am so immensely proud of this anthology, and of the women who’ve joined voices to explore the intersection of womanhood and wildness in such raw, moving stories. Being raised by a Russian ex-pat, I grew up with stories of Baba Yaga, and it’s been such a pleasure putting together these stories inspired by this woman, this witch, who lives deep in the woods in her chicken-legged hut and tempests. Gwendolyn Kiste, Stephanie M. Wytovich, Mercedes M. Yardley, Monique Snyman, Donna Lynch, Lisa Quigley, R. J. Joseph, Christina Henry and so many others have braved fierce female territory in INTO THE FOREST and whether it’s fairy tale, folklore, horror, or fantasy, there is something for every reader in this anthology.

Steve: Bonus Question! You receive an invitation in the mail from one of these two people. The invitation invites you to have dinner and spend the night in their home. Do you accept the invitation from Victor Frankenstein or Dracula and why?
Lindy: I am going directly to Dracula’s castle. Victor was such a jerk—who’d want to dine with that guy? Now his monster, absolutely.

Excellent choice! And it is always best to avoid jerks at dinner!

Thank you again, Lindy!

To find more of her work, follow the links!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Lindy-Ryan/e/B08DZX7Q2G

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lindyryanwrites

Website: http://www.lindymillerryan.com/

3Q’s: Priscilla Bettis feeds us Dog Meat!

I don’t really know how long it’s been now, but it feels like forever that Priscilla Bettis and I connected and it has been fantastic seeing her put out awesome work. She’s also been a devoted follower of my website/blog and even though my WordPress site is being a jerk – she still takes the time read and comment on almost every single post I have – even when I can’t sometimes see them and/or reply to them!

I’m so excited to have Priscilla here today as she celebrates her newest release!

Welcome Priscilla!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?

Priscilla: The hubster and I get up at 4:50 in the morning. In the summer I jog right away before it’s hot, and it gets dang hot in Texas. Then I write afterwards. In the winter I write in the morning’s dark silence before the sun comes up, and then I go out for a jog.

Exercise is an important part of my creative process. Blood gets a-flowing through my gray matter which helps me think more clearly. I gotta keep my eye out for rattlesnakes and wild boar (seriously), but I let my mind wander through my WIP, and I often come up with new associations and fun plot twists.

I’m a slow writer, but I’m a careful writer, too, and try to make each paragraph the best I can get it. So 300 words may be all I put down for the day. My record is 10,000 in one day, but afterwards my brain was as fried as a Twinkie at the state fair.

Having said that, yes, I do know how to buckle down when needed to meet a deadline with daily word count goals and all that. Plus I’m also working on drafting faster. I’m interested to see what I can do in 2023!

Steve: You end up at an estate sale and discover an unpublished manuscript from an author you love. Do you keep it just for yourself or do you share it with the world?

Priscilla: I totally keep it for myself. I figure if it were the author’s intended final version, it would have already gone to the publisher. And since the kids apparently don’t want it…

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!

Priscilla: Dog Meat is a literary, dystopian, horror novella about one man’s struggle against the dog meat trade. Needless to say, Dog Meat is disturbing. It is not for delicate readers. I just hope my story honors the dogs caught in this real-life nightmare and salutes the heroes working to save the dogs.

Why should people read it? If I can raise people’s awareness of the dog meat trade, maybe they’ll be willing to join the fight to change government policies and rescue dogs destined for slaughter.

Steve: Bonus Question! And you loved this previous one so much, I made sure to ask you it! Did you have a favorite wrestler as a kid?

Priscilla: Mr. T all the way! He’s still my favorite because he’s the ideal role model, always striving to improve himself. He went from actor to wrestler to boxer (to actor again) to writer to flashy celeb speaker to Aaron’s Furniture spokesmodel to humble humanitarian (who forever shed his gold in the wake of Katrina) to WWE Hall-of-Famer. What will he do next?!

That is a great choice!

Thank you again so much Priscilla, for your support and for coming and doing this!

To find more of her work, check the links!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Priscilla-Bettis/e/B08R97Z63M

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PriscillaBettis

Website: https://priscillabettisauthor.com/

Book Review: The Dunnie by Keith Thomas

Title: The Dunnie

Author: Keith Thomas

Release date: October 31st, 2022

Firstly – huge thank you to Keith Thomas, Night Platform Book Company and Netgalley for the digital ARC!

Ok, I’m so very confused.

About a few things actually.

But – A) Keith Thomas. Director of The Vigil, Firestarter and most recently an episode of Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities wrote this. B) LOOK AT THAT COVER!! I actually messaged Trevor Henderson to ask if he did it (he didn’t) but even he was raving about it. C) This novella is so amazing YET I’M NOT SEEING ANYONE RAVING ABOUT IT!

So, I’m confused.

I’ve heard of the Dunnie before – in a mythology book we got for my son – where it takes the shape of a horse to trick a rider into riding it, only for the horse to ride into the water, drowning the rider and eating them after. I wasn’t sure if that was what we would be getting here, but I didn’t care. I was hooked and intrigued when I read the synopsis – a grandfather in the grips of dementia has a secret within the house. Sign me up.

What I liked: The story follows Asher, a teenaged boy who is struggling at school following the death of his father. His mother takes him with her to his grandpa’s, there to let him know he needs to move into an extended living home as his dementia is progressing and it’s no longer safe for him to live on his own. What they don’t know, is that he made a deal many years ago, and now the results of that deal has grown, and is hungry.

Thomas does a phenomenal job with Asher’s character, at once a kid who you root for and want to see him succeed, but also seeing how he’s holding onto his imagination and not letting the world entirely get to him. This novella had elements that made me feel like I was reading a Gaiman book, or something the Henson Company was producing. The pacing and quick, snappy chapters worked incredibly well to pull this reader along and there wasn’t a moment where the tension wasn’t subtly being increased.

The ending was really well done and I was so excited to see in the afterword that there will be more coming in this world. Thomas really knocked this one out of the park. I’m not sure if this started as a Screenplay and was adapted or how it came to be but this read very cinematically and the locations we got worked perfectly, especially when we were dealing with the character known as Goat.

What I didn’t like:  I personally loved everything about this one. So, if I stick to my format/formula of how I lay my reviews out, I think the only thing some folks reading this might not like, is that it is a novella, so some moments and events do come and go quickly. I loved how it read and flowed, but some readers may wish for expansion in some spots.

Why you should buy this: At the moment this appears to be a ebook only, so for paperback lovers, you’ll need to wait. For those who read digitally, this novella has shades of Adam Nevill, Tim Lebbon and Laurel Hightower thrown in. It rips along, our characters are really well done and the relationship between Asher and Pa was really a joy to see how it ebbed and flowed, especially through moments when Pa’s dementia reared up.

This was an outstanding read – one I’ve already added to my ‘Best-Of’ list I have – and I hope more and more people discover this one. Now, I wait for Keith’s next release!

5/5

3Q’s Special – Hunter Shea gets Cryptid!

Super excited for today’s 3Q’s guest!

Hunter Shea is a prolific author and fantastic supporter. If you’re looking for crazy creature fiction and people trying to stay alive – look no further! Hunter’s work runs the gamut from emotional to straight up brutal!

Please, do welcome Hunter!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?
Hunter: It’s basically all over the place now. For years, I had a job where I got in early and left early and would write after dinner for an hour or so. Now, on weekdays, it’s sometimes in the early morning, sometimes at night. It all depends on what’s going on that day. On weekends, who knows. I’ve learned I don’t like writing in the morning so much, so I try to wait until the afternoon. My goal is always a thousand words. But I no longer beat myself up when I miss days entirely or only get, say, 300 words down. The whole idea is to just keep moving forward. I haven’t missed a deadline yet!

Steve: You decide to host a writer’s retreat. One weekend in a luxury house on an island. What three other authors do you invite to come along?
Hunter: Wow, that’s a tough one. Since you didn’t specify living or dead, I’ll mix them up. First would be Ernest Hemingway, the man who reinvented the way fiction is written in America. When I started writing, I tried my damnedest to emulate his style – keep it lean and mean. Plus, he’d be a hell of a fun drinking partner while we party the night away on the island. That man had some stories. Next, I’d bring along Kinky Friedman, the Texas crooner and mystery writer who appreciates a cigar as much as I do. His books have brought so much joy to my life. They’re just plain irreverent and fun. And they are the embodiment of the man himself. I could listen to him talk all day. Finally, I guess I should add a horror writer into the mix. It would have to be Bentley Little. Not just because I’m a huge fan of his work. Also because he’s so reclusive. I’d give anything to have a chance to get to know him and talk about the craft. Man, that would be one hell of an island retreat. When can we make this happen?

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!
Hunter: My latest is called To The Devil, A Cryptid, and it’s a hell of a monster romp. Set in Texas, where even the cryptids are bigger, it’s a tale of Satanists, scary legends, bloodthirsty beasts, talking blobs, rioting mobs, grisly deaths, mass destruction, possession, the foibles of fate, paranormal TV, love, lust, friendship, carnage, and the love of a good taco after a night of calling a demon from the pits of hell. Yep, I think that explains it all. It’s published through Severed Press and available in paperback and ebook.

Steve: Bonus Question! You receive an invitation in the mail from one of these two people. The invitation invites you to have dinner and spend the night in their home. Do you accept the invitation from Victor Frankenstein or Dracula and why?
Hunter: This is too easy. I’m no fan of Dracula. He can go suck it where the sun DOES shine. I’m absolutely going to hang with Victor Frankenstein. The man was a genius, though a bit mad. Sounds like a lot of my friends now. I think we’d get along swimmingly. And maybe I could teach his monster not to drown little girls and avoid angry mobs.

Excellent choice! Thank you so much Hunter!

To find more of his work, check the links!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/huntershea1

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Hunter-Shea/e/B007RMLXAA

Website: https://huntershea.com/

3Q’s – Jay Hartlove introduces us to an Insane God!

You know what’s been cool about these 3Q’s? Not only seeing so many people discover new-to-them authors, but I’ve also been fortunate to have a few publicists reach out to me and get some of their clients involved – which means some new-to-me authors as well! Jay Hartlove is one such author. His track record looks fantastic and the synopsis’ of the books all sound really amazing. I sadly haven’t yet got to reading any of his work – but I will be rectifying that here at some point!

Do, please welcome, Jay!

Steve What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?

Jay: I joke that my muse is called “Eleven.” After I finish the evening’s affairs, and my family have all retreated to their own corners to wind down, I sit down to write, usually around eleven o’clock. If she doesn’t show up, and I can’t get into the flow, then I go to bed and get some sleep. If Eleven does show up, and I get into the zone, I will write obliviously until I pass out on the keyboard around 2 or 3 am. So if I have a good night writing, I have a bad day at work the next day.

I don’t have any rituals other than getting back into my characters’ headspace. If I have done my job, I the writer disappear when the reader reads the words. It really is the characters’ story. It’s told through their eyes, their emotions, their reactions. I know where I want the story to go, but to put words to paper, I need to let the characters speak. I know I’m in the zone once I can hear them. In theatrical terms, I “method act”. I get inside their heads and let them speak.

I do most of my writing in my home office, surrounded by my favorite bits of inspiration. There are awards, sculptures, paintings, and theatrical props (I am also a playwright and director). My window faces my back deck and garden, which is very green and calming. I collect ideas all the time, so I often have a notebook with me. I am a firm believer that thinking about your writing is writing. You write what you know, and any decisions you make about a story add to the knowledge you will draw from to write the story. I don’t use word count targets, but I do find the time to work on my current project every day, whether it is actual writing or research (which includes making decisions).

Steve: If you could write a story for another author’s fictional world/series, which would it be and why?

Jay: I’m going to go old school here: Larry Niven’s Known Space series. I write with a lot of big ideas. I love to take stories places that the reader does not expect, with sympathetic villains, heroes with very dark pasts, and lots of plot twists. I tend to turn victims into heroes. Larry Niven has a knack for combining big ideas with a wry sense of humor, and an eye to the absurd. I’d love the chance to poke fun at human nature while also playing with big ideas, especially in that fascinating universe.

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!

Jay: The Insane God is a Young Adult LGBTQ science fiction thriller about a transgender girl who finds herself in the middle of a war caused by meteorites that transform people into followers of two ancient enemy gods. One fills you with blind hate and the other with blind love. Kirkus Reviews called it “Nightmare on Elm Street meets The Stand.” The story hinges on radical acceptance of unwanted change, and our heroine, who has been through significant changes, turns out to be the only one, among her elders, who can keep up with the rapid and terrifying changes the meteorites bring. Why should people read it? David Brin endorsed it. Cosmic horror, mental illness, civil war, and LGBTQ representation. You do like rollercoasters, right?

Steve: Bonus Question! Do you have a cherished book?

Jay: The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton. He showed me how to write science fiction thrillers, and I’m still at it!

Such an amazing book! Thank you so much Jay!

To find more of his work – check the links!

Website: https://www.jaywrites.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jayhartlove

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Jay-Hartlove/e/B00ALFXRZY

3Q’s – Christa Carmen returns us to the Ocean State!

3Q’s today is with one of the nicest women in the dark fiction world. Christa Carmen has been so kind and supportive since we connected and it’s no surprise that her work is so widely sought after!

I’m super excited to have Christa as today’s 3Q’s guest!

Welcome Christa!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try to write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?

Christa: My writing time has changed significantly since having my daughter. I certainly don’t write at the same time each day; I don’t even write daily. To put it simply, I write when I have an ongoing project I need/want to work on, or if the idea for a new project or short story strikes me. Once I’m working on a project, especially a big one, I’ll get into a routine of hitting a daily page or word count, but I have to take advantage of the time during which I can write whenever it presents itself. That might be for twenty minutes in bed with my daughter while waiting for her to fall asleep or four hours straight on a weekend when my husband is at work and my daughter is with her grandparents or cousins. In a way, it’s more a more productive schedule than the one I had three years ago; I can’t waste time picking out ambient coffee shop sounds to write to or reheating my tea or screwing around on the internet. When I have an hour to write, I HAVE TO WRITE.

Steve: If you started a series and for some reason had to have another author finish it, who would you choose?

Christa: That one’s easy. Gwendolyn Kiste. I love her lush yet biting style and her lyrical way with language, the way she not only comes up with unsettling and important and ingenious ideas but executes those ideas to perfection. A lot of what Gwendolyn writes about consistently—feminist takes on vampires, sister relationships, the otherworldliness of birds, dark fairy tales, body horror, etc.—are subjects I’m drawn to as well. Being in the position of having to have another author finish one of my stories or manuscripts seems less than ideal (am I dead? How did I die? Wait, do I need to find someone to finish writing the answers to this interview for me?), but having an author of Gwendolyn’s caliber complete something I’d begun could only be an honor.

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!

Christa: My newest release is We Are Providence: Tales of Horror from the Ocean State. I co-edited this anthology with Lauren Elise Daniels, and New England Gothic scholar Faye Ringel wrote the introduction. The table of contents includes Joshua Rex, John Lynch, Mary Robles, Jason Parent, Victoria Dalpe, Michael Squid, Paul Magnan, Faye Ringel, Barry Lee Dejasu, H.Y. Hsu, K.H. Vaughan, Curtis M. Lawson, Steven E. Belanger, and Aron Beauregard, and Lauren and I each contributed a story as well. My piece, “Testing a Horrible Superstition” (a nod to the 1892 Providence Journal headline describing a “vampire” exhumation that had taken place in Exeter, RI) is about an eighth-grade girl who—after digging into the legend of Mercy Brown to deal with the pain of being bullied—wonders if she, too, will live on after death if she were to be buried in one of New England’s hallowed vampire cemeteries.

Here’s the back cover content I wrote for the anthology, which I think showcases why I’m so enamored of Rhode Island horror, and why someone would do well to check it out!

Come. Take our hands. The twilight is dimming, but the moon is bright enough to see by, and it’s the perfect night to go for a walk. We’ll stroll through a cemetery in Exeter to where police officers are dispatched every Halloween and where a one-hundred-fifty-year-old vampire-girl is said to still roam. We’ll wander the wharfs in Jamestown, but mind your footing; the sea is home to all manner of creatures just waiting to break the surface after a thousand-year sleep. And keep an eye on the Romanesque Revival windows of the mansions along Newport’s Cliff Walk; you might catch a glimpse of a silhouette with no earthly reason for being there. In Providence, we’ll stalk the shadowy streets along with the ghosts of transcendentalist poets and jilted lovers, but don’t be surprised to discover that the monsters of Lovecraft’s fiction are not, in fact, the product of his imagination. The capital city has secrets and those secrets have tentacles. And teeth.

Welcome to Rhode Island, home of the weird, the hometown horror, the haunted, the hunted. Home of the Gothic and of horror with history. We promise there’s something here for everyone, whether visiting or already one with the region’s countless legends. Rhode Island is the smallest state but the biggest house of horrors…

And the door is open.

Steve: Bonus Question! If they made a movie about your life, what actor or actress would you suggest they get to play you?

Christa: When the Ash vs Evil Dead series was cancelled after only three seasons, I was incredibly bummed, first, because the show was a blast overall, with tons of blood, groovy antics, laughs, and one-liners, but even more so because I wanted more of Dana DeLorenzo, and somehow, since the series’ cancellation, no other television series or film production seems to have recognized how amazing she is. If my life were ever to be turned into a movie, I’d be psyched to have her play me. I feel like she’s a great mix between heart and humor, insouciance and intensity.

Thanks, Steve, for the opportunity to answer your thoughtful interview questions!

Oh, excellent choice! Most welcome and thank you for doing this!

To keep up with Christa’s work and discover more – check the links!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Christa-Carmen/e/B01LNXO35A

Twitter: https://twitter.com/christaqua

Website: https://christacarmen.com/

Book Review: Enter the Darkness by Sarah Budd

Title: Enter the Darkness

Author: Sarah Budd

Release date: November 7th, 2022

Firstly – huge thanks to Netgalley and Brigids Gate Press for getting me a digital ARC of this one!

I’ve been a huge fan of Sarah Budd (or S.J. Budd) for a while now. She has such a devious way of crafting her stories. If you want proof, check out her pieces ‘Crowded House’ or even ‘A Bubble of Friendship Will Keep Us’ from her 2020 Demain Publishing release. Her short stories always grab you and pull you into a darkness you’d not expected.

So, when this one was announced – a full-length work – I was super excited to see what she’d created and just how dark she’d take the readers.

What I liked: The story follows four different people all going into the depths of a cave system under London during the Solstice. Each person has a ‘connection’ to the darkness that resides within, and it’s this aspect that Budd really dances with throughout as we see more layers revealed and the impact of these connections come to light.

This one reads a lot like how ‘As Above So Below’ felt. That movie was chaotic, claustrophobic and anxiety-driven, and Budd does this on each and every page. I think each reader will connect with one of the characters more than the others, but each one is done well and has their own storyline to follow, which works to give us solid POV shifts and different angles of the same events.

The action in the latter quarter was really well done and ratchetted things up another notch. Garth just might’ve been the character who goes through the biggest change from the beginning, but Cassie is a close second, especially considering the reason why she was going down below to begin with.

What I didn’t like:   While I enjoyed the Folklore aspect and how Fiona played into it and all the extra bits that came with it, a part of me almost wished this was purely a story of them going into the tunnels and getting lost and having to survive.

As well, while a lot of the POV shifts work, there were a few that seemed a bit unnecessary as it does just replicate the events that immediately occurred.

Why you should buy this: Budd is such a solid and phenomenal writer. She does a wonderful job of creating characters you want to root for and have them thrown into a scenario that allowed her to tease bits and pieces before completely launching into craziness.

This one was a ton of fun and I think it’ll make a lot of folks happy!

4/5

3Q’s Special – A.M. Shine introduces us to The Creeper!

Very excited for today’s 3Q’s! Over the course of two novels, today’s guest has already leaped into my ‘must-read’ author list and I sit here desperately awaiting word of what we’ll get next from him.

A.M. Shine landed in my lap with the exquisite ‘The Watchers’ and then followed it up with the recent ‘The Creeper.’ If you’re a fan of Adam Nevill and some Tim Lebbon thrown in, Shine will be a writer you’ll want to read!

Please, do welcome A.M.!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?

Shine: My writing habits are constantly changing, which probably doesn’t do my body or mind any favours. But I’ve learned through trial and error that it’s not something you can switch on when it suits you, so you need to be ready to run with the inspiration when it hits.
I do have a word count that I set myself. Otherwise, I know that I’d waste hours editing and fancying up what I’ve written instead of moving the plot forward. Maybe I’m a strange case here, but I genuinely love editing. Those little final touches to a sentence are always the most satisfying.

Steve: You decide to host a writer’s retreat. One weekend in a luxury house on an island. What three other authors do you invite to come along?

Shine: Okay, I’m guessing that what happens on the imaginary island retreat stays on the imaginary island retreat. So, you’ll excuse me if I indulge in some casual necromancy and raise up two absolute gents.
First up, Edgar Allan Poe is always top of any guestlist for me. And I don’t believe for one second that he was the irrepressibly melancholic loner that some say he was. I’d expect nothing more than a dark sense of humour and a few recitals to keep us all entertained.
For banter and endless witticisms, Oscar Wilde would make a fine addition, but I’d have to go with Bram Stoker. Just because, well, who wouldn’t want to spend some time with the man who invented Count Dracula? And I’m sure he has a few interesting stories from 19th century Dublin.
And last but by certainly no means least, I’d ferry you over to the island, Steve. I’d like to catch-up with you in-person and chew the fat with a fellow horror writer who hadn’t just been unceremoniously dragged from their grave. (WHAT! NO WAY! THANK YOU!)

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!

Shine: It’s called The Creeper. It’s an Irish horror novel with some Gothic stylings and a nice underlying sense of dread. I’m very proud of it. It’s the kind of horror that’s designed to get under your skin. And I think everyone should read it because that’d make me a very happy horror writer, and the world needs more of those.
We have an elusive academic, a village lost for two-centuries, and a curse that is kept alive through the old art of superstition. Oh, and there’s a creepy kid who really shouldn’t be allowed outside.

Steve: Bonus Question: You receive an invitation in the mail from one of these two people. The invitation invites you to have dinner and spend the night in their home. Do you accept the invitation from Victor Frankenstein or Dracula and why?

Shine: Most definitely the Count.
Poor old Victor has a somewhat nervous disposition and wouldn’t make for the best of company. Add in the fact that we’ll be dining together, and the man’s habit of handling corpses could play havoc with my appetite.
I’ve always wanted to visit Dracula’s home – the meet the man himself and the three vampire sisters. And Jonathan Harker did say in his journal that the Count’s roast chicken was excellent. And it came with cheese and a salad and a bottle of old Tokay. And as my host doesn’t drink wine, then this rare little vintage would be all mine, and it’s meant to be seriously tasty.
I imagine we’d all stay up late, chatting by an open fire, probably calling it a night sometime just before sunrise.

Excellent decision! Thank you so much A.M.!

To keep up to date with his work – check the links!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/A-M-Shine/e/B099S32KQJ/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AMShineWriter

Website: http://www.amshinewriter.com/

3Q’s – Mark Matthews creates a new award!

Today’s 3Q’s is a special one for me. When I first really branched out into the dark fiction community, Mark Matthews was one of the first people to ever give me support or encouragement. It went even to the point of sometimes him being the only one to comment on a Facebook post or tweet on Twitter. It’s the little things like this that really stay with you and I’ll always be grateful Mark took the time to do that.

A fantastic author, a phenomenal editor/anthologist and one of the nicest guys out there, please do welcome Mark!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?

Mark: I am an early riser, early as 5 am, so typically I write in the morning before work and after I’ve wasted an adequate amount of time scrolling social media. (I’ve also got one child to get off to school, the other is in college) The morning is when my brain seems most fresh and the world seems quiet and the coffee tastes so damn good.

In general, I write in manic outbursts. Every bit of fiction I’ve written has consumed me at one point, where I have a desire to write nearly every free moment, and when I’m not at the keyboard, it still dominates my thoughts. Of course, if we only write when we want, not much will get done, so I do push myself to get words down, but when I do, I have never ever had a word count I aim for.  I sometimes aim for a specific scene or a specific paragraph to finish, since I think some are more crucial than others, but it’s more important for me to get the words down and in the right order than it is for me to write a certain quantity.

Steve: Which other author would you most like to see win a prestigious writing award?

Mark: John FD Taff deserves a lifetime achievement award for both his works and how much he’s helped other writers.

Samantha Kolesnik deserves a Jack Ketchum award for True Crime (wait, there’s no such thing as a Ketchum award? Well, let’s start that, and give her the first one)

In general, awards are fun and I partake (I cherish my Shirley Jackson award finalist ‘rock’) but if you write with an award in mind, or if you read based on awards, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.  I liked that award nominations and winners get us talking more about fiction, and they are as note wothy for what’s not nominated as what is nominated. It leads to some great discussion.

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!

Mark: My latest novel is The Hobgoblin of Little Minds, a story that rewrites the Werewolf legend, (though never uses the word Werewolf) in the context of mental illness. It takes place largely in an abandoned psychiatric hospital, a true setting not far from my house. Read it because, well, Werewolves and psych asylums, and it will steal your face right off of your head.

Orphans of Bliss: Tales of Addiction Horror, is the latest anthology that I edited and contributed to. Read it for the talent and diversity in both the table of contents and the pertinent subject matter. It’s a topic which is very personal to my own life.

Steve: Bonus Question! You wake up in a comic book. What is your comic book character and what is your super power?

Mark: Neat question! How about the power of ‘advanced accurate empathy’.  With this super power, I can describe with precision and accuracy not just how you feel at that moment, but how you are going to feel when ‘such and such’ happens. With this power, I help you feel more understood and not so alone.  This is what I have done in my career as a counselor, and in a sense, what I also hope to do in my fiction. As Kafka said: “A book must be the ax for the frozen sea inside us” —and I think I’d add, for the frozen seas between us.

Thank you Steve!

Most welcome! Fantastic super hero answer!

To find more of Mark’s work, as always, check the links!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mark-Matthews/e/B0058HDKC0

Twitter: https://twitter.com/matthews_mark

Website: https://www.wickedrunpress.com/

Book Review: The Root Witch by Debra Castaneda

Title: The Root Witch

Author: Debra Castaneda

Release date: August 26th, 2022

If you’ve not figured it out yet – I’m a huge fan of reading, watching and writing folklore themed stuff set in the woods. Could be creature features, could be supernatural occurrences, or it could be legends passed down come back to get vengeance. No matter the who, what, why or how – sign me up. Even if things have been covered before or are ‘similar’ to other releases (and I’m not saying that about this book or any book in particular), I don’t care – each author offers their own unique experience. Heck, I could read three novels back-to-back-back about witches and each would be completely different while still treading some familiar ground.

Which brings us to ‘The Root Witch.’ I connected with Debra Castaneda over on Twitter a little bit ago and it’s been fantastic seeing what she’s been getting up to and what she’s working on. When I saw this book – I had to snag it – I knew it was right up my alley, and I even bumped it way up my TBR to read it sooner, as I felt it really fit into the October spookiness.

I went in making sure I knew the bare minimum – a terrifying legend set in a forest, in the late 80’s. I love when stories are set before the advent of modern technology as it creates a chaotic energy knowing that help isn’t simply a text message or phone call away.

What I liked: The story is told through two different main characters. First up is new Forest Ranger Knox. He gets the job and moves with his frustrated and reluctant wife. She doesn’t want to live outside of a city and definitely doesn’t want to live as remotely as they’re about to be. The second is Sandy, local TV producer, working her behind off to keep things operating, while dealing with a jerk of a newcomer.

When Halloween arrives and strange occurrences begin in the forest, Knox and Sandy’s stories collide.

Castaneda does a phenomenal job of teasing out what is happening and creating a book that is paced really well, but is always slowly turning up the tension and dread with each chapter. When we get to the point where two reporters go missing, things really escalate and Castaneda pounces, driving the horror home and battering us over the heads with it.

No surprise here, I loved the setting and the way she uses the forest as a character itself, not just a set piece. The trees and leaves and branches play just as much of an important role as do the shadows and palpable air. It works really well to keep the readers on the edge of their seats.

The ending is spot on and while it does close the chapter on this book, it does leave a sliver of potential for a further story down the road.

What I didn’t like: This might be considered a tiny bit on the spoiler-ish side, so maybe skip if you want – but I was honestly expecting some sort of tucked away figure who lived in the woods and ‘resembled’ a witch in some capacity. What happens here is great and really spot on for the story, but I was still perplexed about how it became called ‘The Root Witch’ in the local lore, when it was a bit away from that.

Why you should buy this: If any of what I said in my intro resonated – then you’ll love this one. Crisp pacing, great characters and plenty of action-packed moments, Castaneda has done a solid job of creating a story that resonates with Folklore fans while also etching her own space in that genre. This was great and had me racing through to see what happens!

5/5