Yolanda Sfetsos's Blog, page 39

SOMETHING BAD HAPPENED is now available!

 

Today, I'm very excited to announce that my short story, The Loaded Trunk, is included in this awesome horror anthology alongside a whole bunch of talented authors and artists!

Something Bad Happened: An Anthology of Horror is based on the prompts in Jennifer Bernardini's very inspirting,  Something Bad Happened: A Horror Journal .
Writers, illustrators, photographers, and graphic artists have created pieces in this collection that will have you gripping the edge of your seat. From angels to demons...

BELOW by Laurel Hightower

 

Below by Laurel Hightower
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've been wanting to read this novella for a while, so I got stuck into it today.

Addy's on her way to meet up with some friends at a horror convention when a snowstorm hits the night she's driving through West Virginia. She's recently divorced so she questions her every move, but puts her own life in danger to save a stranger...

Yikes! What a dark ride!

I always love a story that starts out with real world relationship problems before slowly sliding...

STONE MATTRESS by Margaret Atwood

 

Stone Mattress by Margaret Atwood
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I grabbed this short story a few weeks ago and decided to read it tonight.

Verna is a widow who decides to go on a cruise to the Arctic in search of her next target. Or rather, her next husband. Instead, she finds herself running into a man from her past...

I really enjoyed this! The writing is outstanding, and I found myself falling into Verna's tale very quickly. She has a sharp tongue and an entertaining way of remembering her dead husba...

BLOOD MOUNTAIN by Brenda S. Tolian

 

In this mosaic of Southwestern Gothic Horror, a primordial goddess awakens deep within the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The mountain hungers for revenge as invaders leave her emaciated with their greed and brutality. She cries out for blood, infusing the minds of those who do not belong—twisting them outwardly into the dark forms of their true intentions.
An Under Sheriff struggles to grasp brittle threads of hope within the valley and mountains, his soul tormented by the unanswered questions of ...

PORTFOLIO OF THE 100 BEST HARD CASE CRIME COVERS by Various

 

Portfolio of the 100 Best Hard Case Crime Covers by Various
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is another PDF I've had on my phone for several years. Not sure why it's taken me so long to check it out. I mean, asides from whatever's on the 100 covers, there's no other text to read.

Still, it's really nice to have all of these awesome pulpy covers in one place. Hard Case Crime has some pretty cool titles, but even the ones I couldn't get into have fantastic covers. The artwork is fantastic and has a cert...

THE BROKER OF NIGHTMARES by Jon Padgett

 

The Broker of Nightmares by Jon Padgett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I've had this as a PDF on my phone for a while, and decided to start it last week.

Slaw is an ER doctor at Dunnstown General. She has a problem with dreams and addiction. The night a strange old woman comes to the hospital begging for drugs, Slaw's life is turned upside down...

Well, that turned out to be a waking feverish dream. It's weird and creepy, full of grotesque imagery that makes you suffer through all the gross stuff with the...

GIRLS FROM THE COUNTY by Donna Lynch

In the county, eerie stillness can be mistaken for stagnation. In the county, rumination on pain and guilt can be confused with omens and curses. In the county, feelings of claustrophobia stem from understanding what the encroaching darkness brings with it.
You’ve heard of country girls, and city girls, but what of the forgotten girls from the in-between space of the county? Confronting the things too wild for urban areas, and too methodically malevolent for the countryside, girls from the county...

SAGA, Issue #59 by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples

 

Saga #59 by Brian K. Vaughan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Not the best installment.

I love this series but sometimes, there are filler issues that really don't hit the right chord for me. This was one of them. Sure, the family is taking a new direction and shitty people (you know the assholes I'm talking about) are still planning shitty things, but this part of the story is starting to drag a bit.

Maybe this is why reading comic books in Volumes is a lot more fulfilling. You don't have to wait for the ...

GWENDY'S FINAL TASK by Richard Chizmar & Stephen King

When Gwendy Peterson was twelve, a stranger named Richard Farris gave her a mysterious box for safekeeping. It offered treats and vintage coins, but it was dangerous. Pushing any of its seven coloured buttons promised death and destruction.
Years later, the button box re-entered Gwendy's life. A successful novelist and a rising political star, she was once more forced to deal with the temptations that the box represented - an amazing sense of wellbeing, balanced by a terrifyingly dark urge toward...

GALATEA by Madeline Miller

 

Galatea by Madeline Miller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This hardback book is much smaller than usual, but it's so lovely.

Galatea is a feminist retelling of the myth of Pygmalion and Galatea. It still shares a lot of the horrid misogynistic traits with the original because everyone treats Galatea so poorly and rarely listen to her, but in this version she has her own opinions and thoughts. She learns how to behave and treat others so that they won't punish or disregard her, without them realising what...