Willy Martinez's Blog, page 57

My Favorite Book Collections

My favorite book collections and addiction to bibliophilia began when I started studying for my Bachelor’s in English. I figured, if I’m going to spend money on all these books, I might as well keep them! Lo and behold, I went out and purchased my first book case to fill with books and notebooks. As my shelves grew with academic English anthologies, I realized that I felt a sort of accomplishment, or refinement, in reading classic literature. However, I want to expand my mind to be a renaissance man-ish. That requires a much broader and less snobby approach to book collecting. I now find myself going to local thrift stores and library book sales.

With a coffee in hand, never did I go hunt books to turn a profit, or to find what was popular with the “cool kids.” The adventure and travel to new locations in the search for for those perfect books was enough to get me hooked. My calendar stays full with book sale dates, or I make it a point to travel to antique shops to find the ‘one’ book for the day.

The Quest Continues

Over the years (about 12), I have collected over 800 books within various genres to build up my favorite book collection. My favorite genre and primary target these days is the Dark Fiction Genre. My favorite collection is my dark fiction anthology collection, ranging from a huge collection of Poe, all the way to an indigenous dark fiction collection published by Black Hills Press.

The collection spans into the military genre, Egyptology, non-fiction, self-help, esoteric/new age, science fiction, rhetoric, biographies, poetry, art collections, essays, Westerns, auto-biographies and even coloring books. You name it, I’m sure I have come across that genre in my book collecting days.

I’d love to see your collections, link to them in the comments or let me know what I need in my collection to make it classic. Be sure to support this small press, we have a dark fiction collection for sale, “Mad Men” for only $2.99, and support indie horror!

The post My Favorite Book Collections appeared first on Mind on Fire Books.

The Witch Movie Review

The Witch scored a 3 out of 5 hatchets from Horror Author, A.R. Braun.

This film is so nasty and dark, it left me stunned. In this abominable plot, a Puritan family is cast out of their village and must live in the forest because English settler William, the husband and father of the family (Ralph Ineson), argued against the church. Can anyone say “Tears of Korah”? (Tourniquet song)

The Witch movie review on mind on fire books by A.R. Braun

In the woods, strange things happen. While the eldest daughter, Thomasin (the gorgeous Anya Josephine Marie Taylor-Joy), plays peek-a-boo with the infant of the family, Samuel (Axtun Henry Dube), the baby disappears. Soon, we learn there are witches living in the forest, and one of them has kidnapped the newborn to do terrible things to it. Let’s put it this way: She did the same thing to the infant as the male witch in The Warlock did to a little kid.

Devastated over Samuel’s loss, the wife and mother, Katherine (Kate Dickie), weeps and prays, for little Samuel wasn’t baptized. Katherine blames Thomasin for Samuel’s loss.

Review by Horror Writer, A.R. Braun. Check out his Dark Fiction masterpiece, “66Sick,” here.

Thomasin finds her little brother, Caleb (Harvey Scrimshaw), checking a trap in the forest. They spot a hare, which sends their horse into a panic. Their dog, Fowler, follows, and Caleb chases. Then he becomes lost in the woods and finds a hovel, where a beautiful young maid becomes a crone and reaches out and grabs him.

William brings Thomasin home and Katherine chides her eldest daughter. Later, at night, Thomasin finds Caleb naked, sick, and delirious outside the home. The next day, the twins, Mercy (Ellie Grainger) and Jonas (Lucas Dawson), sing songs with Black Philip, the family goat. William accuses Thomasin of being a witch. When Thomasin milks the nanny goat, only blood comes out, proving him right. When Caleb wakes, Katherine urges the family to pray, but the twins act like they’ve forgotten the words. Caleb proclaims his salvation by giving his heart to Jesus before dying.

Things go haywire from there. William locks Thomasin and the twins, who he believes are all witches, in the goat house. Thomasin denies being a witch, but the twins have no words. William has his new come-to-Jesus moment when he repents for being prideful and leaving the church. Katherine has a vision of Caleb holding Samuel. She tries to breast-feed, but a raven pokes at her breast, leaving her bloody.

Review by Horror Writer, A.R. Braun. Check out his Dark Fiction masterpiece, “66Sick,” here.

The Witch movie review on mind on fire books by A.R. Braun

William wakes, but the stables are in rubble, the twins are gone, and Thomason is unconscious. When she wakes, William says he’s going to take her back to town to be tried as a witch, but Black Philip gores him to death. Enraged and mad as a hatter, Katherine blames Thomasin for everything, but the latter kills her mother with a bill hook.

The final girl, Thomasin thinks she’s alone…but she’s not. A malevolent spirit has taken a shine to her, his chosen. Wickedness abounds in the woods. The ending will flip your lid!

This is one of the best—and most sinister—horror films I’ve ever seen. You’re cheating yourself if you miss it!

Biography

A. R. BRAUN is a horror author with fourteen publication credits, one a dark poem, including “NREM Sleep” in the D.O.A. anthology; “Freaks” in Downstate Story magazine; “The Unwanted Visitors” in the Vermin anthology; “Coven” in the Heavy Metal Horror anthology; “Remember Me?” in Horror Bound magazine; “Shades of Gray (the Symbiosis of Light and Dark)” in Micro Horror magazine; and “The Interloper” in the Bonded by Blood 2: a Romance in Red anthology, among others.

You can reach him on Twitter as @ARBraun and on Instagram as a.r._braun.

Midsommar Movie Review by A. R. Braun Book Review of Folk Horror Thriller, “The Reddening” by Adam Neville Hereditary: Film Review by Horror Author, A.R. Braun The Manitou by Graham Masterton – Book Review by Horror Writer, A.R. Braun Cannibalism is Nice: Review of A Modest Proposal by Author Jonathan Swift

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Craft Beer and Horror

Tonights paring is brought to you by Egeus Press and @bigmuddybeer. We have a – limited first edition – collection of short horrors, “Murder Ballads” to read while we sip on some local #craftbeer, smore and stout .

A collection of seventeen dark tales & novellas, in which some of today’s finest weird story writers provide previously unpublished work inspired by traditional murder ballads. The results are sometimes enigmatic, sometimes witty, sometimes desperately grim; just like the songs they often appear to belong outside – either before or after – recorded time, in some malleable epoch of blood-drenched mythology. They channel not only these ballads, but also that certain brand of outmoded publication which once revelled so joyfully in all manner of luridnes.

#beer #stout #hops #writingcommunity #writerslife #BookBlog #books #leeresvivir #read #goth #horror #haunting #murder #psychology #bookhaul #bookstacks #bookstagram #igreads #horrorreads #kohamczytac #leer #leendo #reading #tbr #bibliophile #booknerd #bookish #shelfie #amreading #read #reading

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Hell Fest Movie Review by Horror Author, A.R. Braun

This Hell Fest scored a 3 out of 5 hatchets from Horror Author, A.R. Braun. The Following movie review was written by dark fiction author, A.R. Braun, to be released on the Ritual Blog for Mind on Fire Books.

The slasher film is my least favorite horror sub-genre, but there are exceptions: Black Christmas, The Last House on the Left (the original), the first two Halloween movies (plus the Rob Zombie remakes), the first Friday the 13th film, Mother’s Day—the original, not the remake—and I Spit on Your Grave, the original. To me, most slashers have little going for them, and my IQ drops fifty points every time I watch one. There’s no plot, just a guy in a mask running around killing people, and a sexy woman who picks a flashlight instead of a weapon.

Hell Fest Review for Mind on Fire Books

Hell Fest is no exception.

But at least the characters are intriguing. Hell Fest is one part Halloween haunted house, one part rave, and whatever horrid thing happens, the patrons think it’s part of the show. Little do they know, it’s not FX, it’s real. A serial killer is bumping customers off one-by-one.

Review by Horror Writer, A.R. Braun. Check out his Dark Fiction masterpiece, “66Sick,” here.

Enter our good-person protagonist, Natalie (Amy Forsyth), who folds and agrees to go to this sick shit when peer-pressured. She finds out through her best friend, Brooke (Reign Edwards), that Taylor (Bex Taylor-Clause) is also going, a girl with no filter who calls her “Grade School,” because they went to school together back then, and are no longer friends. Of course Natalie goes for Gavin (Robbie Attal), the nice guy, who’s so overly-kind it’s maudlin.

Early into the show, Natalie watches a girl get stabbed to death, thinking it’s part of the attraction, but said girl was mean to the murderer earlier, a big no-no. Then they notice that a creep wearing a certain mask —which looks like a melted human face—is following them, the antagonist called The Other (Stephen Conroe). When Mr. Nice Guy can’t throw a baseball and fails to get Natalie a stuffed animal, he goes back to buy one … but never returns. His head is pounded to pulp and the hit is so powerful, it rings the high striker.

Natalie’s friends are then picked off one-by-one. At one point, they see a bunch of people in the Other’s mask, then despair that they’re everywhere. How do you escape almost a dozen of them?

Hell Fest Movie Review

Will Natalie be the final girl? Will there be two final girls, Natalie and Brooke, or Natalie and Taylor (since she seems to be the tough one)? Will there be no final girls at all? And what does the Other go home to? All these questions will be answered when you watch Hell Fest (the name stolen from a heavy-metal festival in France).

Review by Horror Writer, A.R. Braun. Check out his Dark Fiction masterpiece, “66Sick,” here.

Biography

A. R. BRAUN is a horror author with fourteen publication credits, one a dark poem, including “NREM Sleep” in the D.O.A. anthology; “Freaks” in Downstate Story magazine; “The Unwanted Visitors” in the Vermin anthology; “Coven” in the Heavy Metal Horror anthology; “Remember Me?” in Horror Bound magazine; “Shades of Gray (the Symbiosis of Light and Dark)” in Micro Horror magazine; and “The Interloper” in the Bonded by Blood 2: a Romance in Red anthology, among others.

You can reach him on Twitter as @ARBraun and on Instagram as a.r._braun.

Midsommar Movie Review by A. R. Braun Book Review of Folk Horror Thriller, “The Reddening” by Adam Neville Hereditary: Film Review by Horror Author, A.R. Braun The Manitou by Graham Masterton – Book Review by Horror Writer, A.R. Braun Cannibalism is Nice: Review of A Modest Proposal by Author Jonathan Swift

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“The Beyond” Movie Review

The Beyond scored a 5 out of 5 hatchets from Horror Author, A.R. Braun. The Following movie review was written by dark fiction author, A.R. Braun, to be released on the Ritual Blog for Mind on Fire Books.

Fulci’s one of my favorite screenwriter-directors, and while I said last week my new favorite film is Doctor Sleep, my favorite all-time movie is The Beyond.

Liza (Catriona MacColl) has inherited her uncle’s ramshackle hotel in New Orleans. Under the building, a basement? Probably. One of the seven doorways to Hell? Definitely.

The Beyond Movie Review for Mind on Fire Books

This door has opened before, and it will open again. Evil forces grab her dog, leaving her feeling raped and hopeless. One of the most brilliant shots ever has a closing-in reveal of a woman and her seeing-eye dog. This is a portent, for impending gore awaits her, when she’s stabbed in the eye.

Review by Horror Writer, A.R. Braun. Check out his Dark Fiction masterpiece, “Grimoire,” here.

Thrilling camera shots abound. Fulci’s soft lighting plops onto the character’s faces. The outdoor shots are grainy and surreal. A terrifying tarantula scene will be burned into your mind.

The Beyond Movie Review by A.R. Braun

Out of the evil door come zombies. Ghosts abound, able to be harmed in the flesh. All right, it’s got its faults, but it’s still a major player from the golden age of horror, this film 1981.

People will tell you The Beyond is a ripoff of Argento’s Suspiria and isn’t as good, but don’t you believe it. Definitely inspired. One thing’s for sure, It’s an eye-popping, creepy-crawling classic. Don’t miss it! It’s only $3.99 to rent in HD—$2.99 in SD—on Prime Video.

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Getting Smarter More Reviews! Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again. Midsommar Movie Review by A. R. Braun Book Review of Folk Horror Thriller, “The Reddening” by Adam Neville Hereditary: Film Review by Horror Author, A.R. Braun The Manitou by Graham Masterton – Book Review by Horror Writer, A.R. Braun Cannibalism is Nice: Review of A Modest Proposal by Author Jonathan Swift

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Movie Review of Stephen King’s “Doctor Sleep”

Movie Review of Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep, written by Horror Author, A.R. Braun.

This is my new favorite movie, based on the Stephen King novel. Now that you know I’m biased, I’ll explain why this film is so great: It’s a Kubrick sequel. It could’ve been called The Shining 2.

How can it be Kubrick when the man is dead? Movie Review of Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

It’s directed similar to how the master did it, a brilliant job by Mike Flanagan. No croquet mallets, no hedge animals—though I love the hedge animals—and the Overlook hasn’t burned down. I’m saying it’s not true to the book. But when you’re Kubrick, or Kubrick-like, your genius can get away with anything.

Oh yeah, the plot. In 1980, little Danny Torrance (Roger Dale Floyd) lives with his mother—You remember Wendy, played by the actress who portrayed Olive Oil, now played by Alex Eddie—and after the trauma and utter devastation they suffered at the Overlook Hotel—you know, that nasty bit of business of Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) trying to ax his family to death—Danny, shining like the sun, finds comfort in the ghost of Dick Hallorann (Carl Lumbly). The ghosts from the Overlook still haunt Danny, but Dick teaches him how to bind the hungry spirits from the hotel by locking them in imaginary boxes.

Review by Horror Writer, A.R. Braun. Check out his Dark Fiction masterpiece, “Grimoire,” here.

Enter 2011. Danny now goes by Dan, and is an alcoholic, just like his father. Following a pathetic display of desperation with his one-night stand and her baby—his rock bottom—Dan decides to, on a whim, take a bus to a small New Hampshire town, where he meets the man that’ll change his life: Billy Freeman (Cliff Curtis), a dry alcie who sees a lot of himself in Dan and gives him a job running a kiddie train, plus taking him to AA meetings and setting him up with an apartment. Dr. John (Bruce Greenwood), who runs the AA meetings, gets Dan a job as an orderly in a nursing home, and Dan follows the white cat who instinctually goes to the room of whoever’s going to die, every time. Then Dan calms those afraid of death so they can let go, a.k.a. “Dr. Sleep.”

Movie Review of Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep

But a group, unbeknownst to Dan, is murdering children.

We meet Abra, (Kyliegh Curran)—she’s magic, like cadabra—a schoolgirl whose Shining is off the charts. She telepathically contacts Dan for help, knowing a group of adults has killed a little boy, then shows up in his town, where Dan refuses to help because of her age.

Enter the ultimate villain, Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson). She leads her merry band of psychic vampires, who live like gypsies and kill kids, then eat their Shining so they can live way longer than most people, if you want to call them people. “Eat well, live long,” says Rose. They aren’t immortal, however.

And now Rose has picked up on Abra with her psychic antenna—the strongest Shiner ever—and the group goes after her.

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Getting Smarter More Reviews! Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again. But wait, there’s more!Movie Review of Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep

Dan brings Billy on a road trip and finds the little boys’ corpse, which confirms that Abra was right. Dan changes his mind about helping her when he finds that the vamps want her, and agrees to help Abra. He picks her up after he and Billy kill all of the group but Rose. Yet Rose drank all the remaining stored Shining’s, and is so powerful, that, to have a chance, Dan has to take Abra to the Overlook Hotel—now closed down after that mess with Jack—and wake it up so he can unlock the boxes he’s storing the ghosts in so they’ll come after Rose and devour her, for they’re starving for Shining.

Will Rose defeat Dan and eat Abra alive? Or will she kill both of them? Will she add Abra to her next group? Or will Dan and Abra defeat her?

It’s important to note that, now that Stephenie Meyer has ruined Vampires with the Twlight saga, Stephen King (and his son, Joe Hill), are writing about psychic vampires. Brilliant!

Don’t miss this one!

Review by Horror Writer, A.R. Braun. Check out his Dark Fiction masterpiece, “Grimoire,” here.

More Reviews by A.R. Braun Below… if you dare. Midsommar Movie Review by A. R. Braun Book Review of Folk Horror Thriller, “The Reddening” by Adam Neville Hereditary: Film Review by Horror Author, A.R. Braun The Manitou by Graham Masterton – Book Review by Horror Writer, A.R. Braun Cannibalism is Nice: Review of A Modest Proposal by Author Jonathan Swift

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Writer or Prophet? Jules Verne Predicted Technology

Writer or prophet? Jules Verne, famous science fiction writer not only produced texts that we still talk about today in our classrooms, science groups, book clubs and cartoon such as Rick and Morty; he also predicted these seven technologies in his texts.

Not many people know this, but he is in fact, one of the original fathers of Science Fiction that affected a world wide audience. Jules Verne, was a French author writing the famous classics like Around the World in 80 Days, and 20K Leagues Under the Sea was born #OTD in 1828.

Beyond just the plot devices and aesthetic that still influences sci-fi stories to this day, Jules Verne made predictions about technology that are true.

Happy National Science Fiction Day Pandemic Reading List Happy Birthday SciFi Lover, Jimi Hendrix
He was also apparently a prophet. Here are 7 futuristic ideas or inventions that he depicted in his sci-fi fiction.

1. Electric Submarines: Jules Verne’s fantastical imagination produced inventions that were just as memorable as his protagonists. In the story Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Verne introduced the world to the submarine Nautilus.

Jules Vern Art for 20,000 leagues

2. Helicopter: Verne sketched out and imagined tons of aircraft during his time as an author. However, in the story Robur the Conqueror, he was extra specific with one of his descriptions. In the story, the character builds a machine out of pressboard that was controlled with high-speed rotors that propelled the aircraft to the heavens.

3. Jukebox and Hologram: The first time you may remember seeing the idea of the hologram in pop culture was probably in the classic film Star Wars. Yet, Jules was thinking about this way before Leia requested Obi-Wan’s help.

4. Newscasts: More of a futurist than a prophet, some describe Jules Verne as someone who was paying great attention to the times rather than simply outright prophesying. Verne was well acquainted with the technology of the time and played with ideas of how those technologies could evolve. In the Year 2889, Verne predicts an alternative to the newspaper.

Jules Vern, “Journey to Mars” Graphic Art.

5. Videoconferencing: In the same story, “In the Year 2889”, Jules Verne hinted at the idea that is very close to what you may describe as video conferencing today. Calling it the phonotelephote, the device allowed people to communicate with each other over great distances.

6. Solar sails: If you were to read Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon, you would think he is describing space travel today.

7. Lunar module space travel: In From the Earth to the Moon, Jules Verne was able to capture humanity’s fascination with the moon and eventually Space travel. Verne also mentioned splashdown spaceships, a space base in Florida, light pressure propulsion, and space suits all way before their time.

The post Writer or Prophet? Jules Verne Predicted Technology appeared first on Mind on Fire Books.

Survivor Song Book Review by A.R. Braun

This week’s Book Review is for “Survivor Song,” written by Paul Tremblay. A big thanks to Horror Author, A.R. Braun for this excellent book review.

I think the most disturbing aspect of this novel is that it’s about a pandemic raging through the country. Sound familiar?

Time for quarantine in Massachusetts, and curfew—what are they, 15?—due to a raging case of rabies that affects animals AND humans. Basically, it’s zombies dressed-up. The protagonist is a lovable character named Natalie, a married pregnant woman. One of the infected gets into her house, and Nat can kiss her husband goodbye. Brutal.

Natalie calls her friend, Ramola (Rams). There’s only one problem: Nat’s been infected, and Rams refuses to accept the truth. She drives her to the hospital, where Rams uses her clout as a pediatrician, and they end up on a bus, because the hospital’s full.

But it’s a short ride as Nat begins to turn.

Survivor Song Book Review

Making files on her cell phone for her unborn daughter, Nat knows she’s infected, but also won’t accept it. Eventually, it’s off the bus for them, and with the aid of a few teens fighting the good fight, they stave off those completely infected. But how long can they keep this up, with more and more wounded soldiers falling as they live on borrowed time?

Is there any hope for Nat? Will the teenage boys be able to avoid infection? Is there any hope for anyone? One thing’s for sure: This book will give you the creeps, a little too close to home.

Horror Author A.R. BraunA.R. Braun on Mind on Fire Books

Survivor Song Book review by Horror Writer, A.R. Braun. Check out his latest short story, “Little Ghoul,” here.

A.R. Braun is a featured writer in our fiction anthology, “Mad Men” – a collection of three disturbing tales exploring what lies within man. Bull book description below.

Look inside Details Mad Men Mad Men is a collection of three disturbing horror shorts from authors living in the Midwest. The themes explored in this collection range from man versus self, man versus man, and man versus creature.

[caption id="attachment_4742" align="alignleft" width="188"] Mad Men eBook at Mind on Fire Books[/caption]

Mad Men begins with Matt’s tale, a thought-provoking thriller which causes the reader to question his reality and what he fears within himself. The second tale explores the grotesque juxtaposed with beautiful nature, where the ending unfolds into a horrific dream, waking in even more terrible pain. The third tale is by seasoned horror writer, A.R. Braun – and his diabolical creatures never disappoint!  A.R. Braun’s goal is to be on the banned book list; we think this tale may just be evil enough to be considered. A must read before it does get banned!

Mainstream Horror Shorts don’t always satisfy us in the way they should. They don’t open conversations about what it is that we fear or why we fear such things, they focus mainly on pop culture and gore. The writers in the Mad Men anthology understand the need for literate horror, opening discussions of man’s psyche. When these writers set out to tell a story, they are less interested in conveying fear and more interested in wonder, the sublime, and the infinite strangeness that drives all man and woman. Highly recommended for tweens, teens, and adults.

The Mad Men anthology published by Mind on Fire Books. Written by Willy Martinez, A.R. Braun and Matt Lavitt. No part of this book shall be copied without permission from the publisher. .book[data-book="book-4740"] .cover::before {background: url(https://mindonfirebooks.com/wp-conten... figure .buttons a { font-size:0.65em !important;}.bookshelf figure h2 { font-size:1.8em !important;}div#bookshelf { -ms-transform: scale(1, 1); /* IE 9 */ -webkit-transform: scale(1, 1); /* Safari */ transform: scale(1, 1);}

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Midsommar Movie Review by A. R. Braun

The Following review was written by dark fiction author, A.R. Braun, to be released on the Ritual Blog for Mind on Fire Books.

I put off watching this film because it seemed artsy-fartsy. Don’t make that mistake. Ari Aster’s second horror movie after Hereditary WILL freak you out. If you’ve seen Hereditary, then you know the kind of scares to expect.

Dani (Florence Pugh), a psychiatry major, mourns—traumatized—after her mentally ill sister kills herself AND her parents with carbon monoxide.

Scene from Midsommar Film. For review on Mind on Fire Books

Her boyfriend, Christian (Jack Reynor)—a cultural anthropology student—holds her tight and helps her grieve, but also wants to dump her because she’s never in the mood. This is an attitude that’s written in stone by his buddies, Mark (Will Poulter) and Josh (William Jackson Harper), who simply don’t like her, except for . . .

. . . Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren), their Swedish friend, who, it turns out, has invited the boys to Midsommar, a celebration at Pelle’s ancestral commune, the Hårga, in Sweden. The celebration occurs only once every 90 years, and anthropology student Josh desires to write this thesis on it. Dani inadvertently invites herself to Midsommar, then is more than touched when Pelle expresses his sincere condolences about what happened to her family, making her run to the bathroom to weep. In fact, Pelle wins her over, telling her, if it wasn’t for his non-biological new family in Sweden, he wouldn’t know what he’d do (not verbatim).

But the foursome couldn’t fathom what they’re in for.

The group takes a plane to Sweden and drives, then walks to the commune, where they meet Simon and Connie (Archie Madekwe and Ellora Torchia), a British couple from London who were invited by Pelle’s communal brother, Ingemar. Simon offers the group ‘shrooms, and Dani has hallucinations of Terri, her sister, while under the drug’s influence. Mark, however, freaks out, unable to take the trip, telling the others to lay down like him.

Enter what Algernon Blackwood would’ve called a “series of shocks,” or “grotesqueries.”

At the twisted tradition of ättestupa the group learns that the cult kills themselves at seventy-two years of age. This scene is brutality realized.

Things amp-up from there, where a redhead sets her sights on Dani’s boyfriend, and puts—gulp—her pubes in his meal. If you like the band, HammerFall, you’ll love what happens to Josh when he sneaks into the holiest of holies to snap a picture of their sacred book, after being forbidden to do so.

The human sacrifices have begun . . . of the Americans . . . and Pelle tells Dani his family is her family (not verbatim). When Dani catches her boyfriend screwing the redhead, she falls apart . . . but the Swedish females fall apart WITH her. (See, her new fam-il-y.)

Scene from Midsommar Film. Movie Review by A.R. Braun

By the end, she’ll warm-up to it, in a hideous way.

This film and Hereditary are at the top of my Blu-ray rack, and with good reason. Ari Aster is one of the few American writer/directors making genuinely shocking horror movies right now. Don’t miss either of them! And if you do, it’s your own fault.

A.R. Braun on Mind on Fire Books

Review by Horror Writer, A.R. Braun. Check out his latest short story, “Little Ghoul,” here.

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Top Seven Virginia Woolf Quotes

All of us literary nerds are familiar with the name, “Virginia Woolf.” We have also heard that we are supposed to fear her, and not simply because of her name, but because of her tenacity to stand up against the patriarchal mind, and also the mental paradigms of her own time.

Adeline Virginia Woolf was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th century authors and also a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device.

Here are the six best quotes we could muster:

‘Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.’ “When you consider things like the stars, our affairs don’t seem to matter very much, do they?”“Books are the mirrors of the soul.”“I enjoy almost everything. Yet I have some restless searcher in me.”“I am reading six books at once, the only way of reading; since, as you will agree, one book is only a single unaccompanied note, and to get the full sound, one needs ten others at the same time.”“In solitude we give passionate attention to our lives, to our memories, to details around us.”“You cannot find peace by avoiding life.”