C.A. Verstraete's Blog, page 38

October Frights #Horrror #Zombie Reading List!

 ** This is a special version of our Reading List for the 
October Frights Blog Hop! ** 

Find some cool spooky reads by some of the hop's authors!
* Don't forget to visit the hop stops for short fiction and more -- ** See list at end. Bonus:  Halloween Horror Giveaway 1 -Giveaway 2!

Creepy Short Stories & Poems: 


A Persistence of Geraniums and Other Worrying Tales , John Linwood Grant -  First collection of tales of the Edwardian... Tales of murder and madness in Edwardian England.   (** And for more short creepy stories in the occult vein, check out The Occult Detective Quarterly, edited by Grant.)
Curiously Dark Tales, Debbie Christiana - Supernatural beings and the evils of humanity come alive in dark tales with a twist.

New! Descent Into Darkness - Stories and novellas, zombies to horror and more, 700+ pages. Includes my story, "Thirteen Horses."

Final Masquerade, Lycan Valley Press, Naching T. Kassa and others - The evening is ending and the unmasking is set to begin. Welcome to Final Masquerade, 16 stories where no one is who they seem. 



Horror Haiku Pas De Deux , Anita Stewart - Poetry, horror and haiku to chill your bones. 
  Mushroom and Anchovy , K.M. Cooper - Pre-order! Collection of three stories spanning the lives of these two adventurers. The stories feature journeys to an accursed mountain, a forest filled with strange pocket dimensions, and Hell itself. Along the way, hearts will be broken--and so will the fourth wall. 
The 13: Tales of Illusory, Stephanie Ayers - Thirteen enchanted horrors, 13 spine-tingling tales. Down in the depths they fell, bodies in the dark of a liquid hell. Can you survive all 13? Creatures:


Mermaid Quay, Creatures Gone Astray Book 1,  Alice de Sampaio Kalkuhl -  The horrors of creatures gone astray are best visible in a beautiful landscape, and Nimue and her brothers find them at Mermaid Bay, Cardiff Bay.




Angels & Demons:


Dark and Dangerous Things (Dark Things Book 5), Kelly Martin - Elise makes it her mission to rid the world and her possessed father of Molly, and send her back to hell where she belongs. Molly Drake has souls to take - and the souls are fighting back. 
Path of Angels, boxed set - Patricia Josephine - Four books follows the highest angel Gabriel and his brothers as they follow the path of good and battle against darkness. 
Rose of Crimson, Zrinka Jelic - An immortal's tragic love story is Kate's obsession. Can she write it, and get his voice out of her head even as their love story unfolds? A tale of love, two lifetimes and desire vs. emotional need.

The Starblood Trilogy: Starblood, Psychonaut, Black Sun, Carmilla Voiez - Satori, Choas Magician, casts a spell to win back his true love, but Star Lillith, mother of demons, has other ideas. Summoned by his magic, Star makes it her mission to manipulate and separate the doomed lovers...
Dystopian:

The Leah King Trilogy, Philip Harris - Leah is drawn deeper into the war and must face the woman who's torn her life apart. She must decide who she can trust and how far she'll go to uncover her past. 

The Prophecy Unfolds: Dragon Queen  (Book 1), Scarlett Flame - A dystopian steampunk world of dragons, magic and werewolves where science fiction meets science fact. Can Alex survive in a world where three factions battle for dominance? 
 Ghosts:The Haunting of Dr. Bowen:  A Mystery in Lizzie Borden's Fall River, C.A. Verstraete - Was Lizzie Borden's doctor haunted by the horrific axe murders of 1892? Now, two years after the Borden murders, Dr. Bowen is determined to uncover the mysteries stirring up the city’s ancient, bloodthirsty specters. Can he discover who, or what, is shattering the peace before Fall River runs red? Or will he be the next victim?
     Part mystery, part love story, The Haunting of Dr. Bowen reveals the eerie side of Fall River as witnessed by the first doctor on the scene of the legendary Borden murders.
HORROR:



Now Entering Silver Hollow , Anne Hogue-Boucher - Questions are answered and visitors of the town are tormented by forces at Dubbs House that they don't comprehend and may never understand...  
The Father of All Flesh, Nicholas Paschall - An ancient evil awakens in a Chinese village. Then the villagers turn into ravenous blobs of skin with an unslakable hunger for human flesh. 

The Revelation of Faithe Eileen, Melanie McFarlane - There once was a girl who lived in the woods... Faithe Eileen can't remember. All she knows is something goes wrong when she gets upset, and she's starting to lose control. Mystery YA Novella.

Witches & Wizards: 

 
Home Summonings: The Winter Trilogy,  Omnibus One, James McDonald - Can wizard Greyson Forester regain his power in time to prevent an ancient evil from conquering the world and all the realms? 
    A dark comedy series where all the worlds' creatures from demon to fairy, angels and monsters must mke their way in a world that dismisses them as myth - or has forgotten them. Now some want to be remembered.

The Cottage , Lavinia Urban - Lydia is left reeling when she discovers her memories have been blocked for eight years. Then she finds she's not only a shape-shifting witch, but Gatekeeper to the Dark Realms. 
The Witch of Willow Lake (Kyrie Carter Supernatural Sleuth, Book 3), Leta P. Hawk - Left with unanswered questions after the paranormal investigation at Willow Lake College, Kyrie Carter vows to discover the events leading up to the fire in Appleton Hall’s bell tower that took Mary Bollinger’s life in 1958. Does the book of legends she uncovers also a portal to an evil from the past?
 Zombies:

 
Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter, C.A. Verstraete - Finally, a reason for the brutal August 1892 axe murders of a Fall River, Mass. businessman and his wife... what if Lizzie Borden did it because she had no other choice? 2017 marks the 125th anniversary of the infamous murders.

Odium V, Dead Saga Series Book 5, Claire C. Riley - In a world where the dead have risen, Nina finds life is far different, and so is love. 

War and Pieces, complete first season (Frayed Fairy Tales)  - Tia Silverstone Bach - Once upon a time, in a land far away, there were zombies...  Havoc is going on in Ever After... Serial series ( Also: Complete Boxed Set)

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October Frights Blog Hop 3 - #horror fiction

What better time to share something scary than during the annualOctober Frights Blog Hop October 10-15? - Prizes, stories & more! See all the blog stops below. *  See the Halloween Horror Giveaway 1  - Giveaway 2!


Today, I wanted to share a strange little story I wrote a while ago that some of you may have read already, and some of you maybe haven't.


Fall LeavesBy C.A. Verstraete (photo: pixabay.com) It was over with me and Hal.I'd finally had enough when he came home late again, drunk. Then I saw the lipstick mark.I lost it. Not thinking, I swung the lamp.
Horrified at what I'd done, I spent all night digging and covered the hole with a big leaf pile. Tomorrow, I burn.
(heh-heh)

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October Frights Blog Hop 2 - #1LineWed #horror #lizzieborden

What better time to share something scary than during the annualOctober Frights Blog Hop October 10-15? - Prizes, stories & more! 
See all the blog stops below.


* Get some free horror -  *  See the Halloween Horror Giveaway 1! - Giveaway 2!

Since today is also #1LineWed, 1 Line Wednesday, I'm sharing a tiny excerpt from both my books. (Click titles to buy/read more on Amazon.)
Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter:

After the first hit, Lizzie closed her eyes, too, but kept swinging the hatchet. WHACK. WHACK. WHACK.

About  Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter:

Every family has its secrets…

One hot August morning in 1892, Lizzie Borden picked up an axe and murdered her father and stepmother. Newspapers claim she did it for the oldest of reasons: family conflicts, jealousy and greed. But what if her parents were already dead? What if Lizzie slaughtered them because they’d become,,. zombies?

The Haunting of Dr. Bowen, A Mystery in Lizzie Borden's Fall River:

The scene changed. A stream of dark, thick fog floated into the room. The sleeping Bowen murmured and stretched out his arm. "Phee-Phoebe, no." 

About The Haunting of Dr. Bowen, A Mystery in Lizzie Borden's Fall River:

Gruesome deaths haunt the industrial city of Fall River, Massachusetts.

Dr. Seabury Bowen—physician to the infamous Lizzie Borden—swears he’s being stalked by spirits, though his beloved wife thinks it’s merely his imagination. But the retired doctor insists that neither greed nor anger provoked the recent sensational axe murders in Fall River. Rather, he believes the city is poisoned by bad blood and a thirst for revenge dating back to the Indian and Colonial wars.

Now, two years after the Borden murders, Dr. Bowen is determined to uncover the mysteries stirring up the city’s ancient, bloodthirsty specters. Can he discover who, or what, is shattering the peace before Fall River runs red? Or will he be the next victim?

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October Frights Blog Hop Day 1 #horror

Today starts the annual October Frights Blog Hop from October 10 to 15.



There are all kinds of spooky stories, excerpts, contests and more.I'll be sharing a couple creepy little stories too!
See the Facebook group for all info.  Be sure to visit the rest of the stops and see my story below. *  See the Halloween Horror Giveaway 1 and Giveaway 2!


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**********
Today I'm sharing a fun, creepy but lighthearted little story. Don't worry, I'll get gorier later in the week. haa!
 (Image: Pixabay.com)
The Pumpkin PatchBy C.A. Verstraete
Every year he sat in the pumpkin patch, waiting for that one special person to come his way.   Day after day, he grew larger and a vivid, brighter orange as he turned into a grand specimen of the pumpkin family.    Then it happened. A cute little boy with a big smile and freckles almost as orange as his skin came and picked him up.    The boy’s hug felt nice, so good, just like his ancestors had told him it would.   The others rustled their big green leaves on the vine in goodbye as the man carried him to the family’s car.   He rode to his new home nestled in the arms of the boy. He relished the warmth of the boy’s hands around him. The pumpkin patch seemed far away now.   The boy insisted on carrying him in. Wait, what was that? A flash of orange on the porch step caught his eye. Another pumpkin. But-but what was wrong with that pumpkin’s face?   He didn’t have the chance to see enough as they carried him inside. A rustle of paper. He sat on the table waiting to be set in the place of honor. That’s all he’d heard as he grew up in the pumpkin patch—that the one chosen had a place of honor in the family’s home.   “All right,” the father said. “Scary or funny?”   “Funny!” the boy cried.   Wait . . . what-what was happening? ARGGGH! Something sharp cut into his brain. No-No! What are they doing?   Oh, the pain! The cutting, the searing pain, the stabbing, seemed to last forever.   Then the worst came. The horrible humans dug inside, scooping out his innards—his heart, his brain—until he sat there, nothing but an empty shell.   Through the magic of the pumpkin patch, he still felt, though. He still followed their motions. The little boy, who had seemed so good, so loving, turned his gap-toothed smile of terror in his direction. The man gave an evil leer and leaned ever closer with that instrument of torture.   He quivered in fear as the man cut into his soft, tender flesh. One cut, and then another, and soon a big evil smile with five little pointed teeth decorated his face.   In surprise, he blinked, his vision sharp and clear as the man cut two triangular eyes above his newly formed mouth and nose.    The electric candle they put inside him gave an eerie glow and lit the space around him. He looked out from his place of honor by the fireplace, listening as the house quieted and the family went to bed.   Slowly, carefully, he rolled and bumped his way off the fireplace bricks. He slid along the wood floor, going down the hall. At the door, he stopped and listened to the soft breathing where the little boy slept.    Longing filled him.   Chomping his teeth, he slipped into the room without a sound, eager to be with the one who had given him new life. ## 

October Frights Blog Hop Oct 10-15!

The annual October Frights Blog Hop starts October 10 to 15.


All kinds of spooky stories, excerpts, contests and more.I'll be sharing a couple creepy little stories too!
Some come back October 10  - tomorrow - Tuesday  !! - for the links and see what's up. I dare you!! See all the Blog Stops Below!   See the Facebook group for all info. 

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Monday Updates! #Horror #Writing #zombies

It's Monday! So it's update time. What else to do today, right?

What's New or Coming Up?

* I have a new story, "Thirteen Horses," in the Descent Into Darkness anthology. Stories, novellas and more! You can also get it in paperback, 700+ pages! 


* Yay! Got a new review on Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter. 4 stars. I have a ways to go to 50 so feel free to add yours! 



* The October Frights Blog Hop starts Tuesday to Sunday. Prizes, spooky fiction and more! Come back to the blog here for all the links and info.



* Saturday: 6-9 p.m.: Halloween fun! Come see the new Monsters! show and get a signed book Saturday at the Left of the Lake Gallery, 4615 7th Ave., Kenosha, WI.

** Almost done with my weird, horror news-fiction story I've been working on.  Only a few edits to go. So far it's called "The Story of the Century." Stay tuned for details! 

Interesting tid-bit: 
Bet you didn't know.... The days and dates in August 1950 are the same as in August 2017! (I didn't know either until I looked it up.)
 * Feel free to share what you are working on!! 

New! #Horror Story & Anthology: Descent Into Darkness

New Horror Anthology - Pre-Order!
DESCENT INTO DARKNESS  

Releases Oct. 10!
What keeps you awake at night?

Murder and monsters...
Demons and forces of evil...
Ghosts and urban legends...
Dive into the darkness with twenty tales of terror that will keep you awake long after the lights go out.

A horror anthology featuring featuring several best-selling and award-winning authors from around the globe, "Descent into Darkness" contains a variety of terrifying short stories and novellas.
In my story, Thirteen Horses, a couple discovers the true price of their crime.  And sometimes, the punishment fits...Includes: 
Baba by Tony Urban
Blood Note by Sylvester Barzey 
Nail Gun Glissando by Steve Vernon 
The Evil in Devil’s Creek by Paul B. Kohler 
What’s Been Keeping Me Awake by Amanda Luzzader 
Mark of Perdition by R. L. Blalock
The Sun Makes Me Turn Purple by Gretta Penelope
Send in the Clowns by David J. Schmidt
The Nine Lives of Captain Osborne by E.E. Isherwood
They Want to Die, Let ‘em by L J Parker
Simon Says by Rachel McClellan
The Door by Delia Rai 
Thirteen Horses by C.A. Verstraete
Zombie Apocalypse by Max Lockwood
Fetch by Joe Jackson
Knock, Knock by Cindy Carroll
His Model Son by Brian J.W. Lee
Ascension by G M Sherwin
Through a Dark Wood by Shayne Rutherford
Lock and Key by Patrick Logan

The Kings in Milwaukee part 2 #writing #horror

By Christine Verstraete

This is part two on Saturday's event in Milwaukee featuring Stephen King and his son, Owen King, who are touring to promote their newly released collaboration,   Sleeping Beauties .  * Read the first part of the story and some of their comments here.

(Photo: Justin Hamelin)


Sleeping Beauties is a huge 700+ word book. The premise is that women all over the world are disappearing, going to sleep, shrouded in a cocoon.

Here are some of their comments on writing:

How they became writers:

Owen King: "As a kid, we had books all over the house. Both my parents were writers, so I had the idea it was easy to be a writer. (Laughter in crowd.) We could read whatever we wanted. My childhood job was I read books for him (his father).  I started at 7 or 8, and the fist book I read was The Watchers by Dean Koontz. (It was) part of my big education as a writer."


(Photo: Dawn Napier)

What to do to become a writer?

Stephen King: "Read all the time. My mother was a single mom, we didn't have a TV for a long time." His mother was reading paperbacks, so early on, "I got to meet Miss Marple."

"When I was very young, I wanted to read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, so she read it to me." When it came to the part about hearing "the bones snapping," I said, 'I want that."

So, what are they reading now?

OK: " Get Shorty   (Elmore Leonard)."

SK: " Y is for Yesterday by Sue Grafton (Kinsey Millhone series #25)"

Their favorite books?

SK: "Great Expectations."

On writing:

OK: "I think I learned a lot of writing lessons from my father over the years. It's scary and inspiring to be part of a collaboration. You constantly feel you have to raise your level. If the story runs into a bit of a narrative roadblock, he always has a solution for it that feels organic. That wizardry is not something you can teach."

What's coming up:

SK: An adaptation of the story, 1922, from Full Dark, No Stars, airs next month on Netflix: "I like what they did with it, frankly."




SK: A new book, The Outsider, comes out next June. "I like this one a lot. It's one of those stories I don't want to say a lot. Even the opening is a spoiler. "

On collaborating with his wife, author Tabitha King:

SK: "I would love to collaborate with my wife. ... Marriage is a collaboration. We've been married like 45 years. She tells me what to do and I do it."

Would father and son collaborate again?

OK: "We might. We had a great experience. I think people are always disappointed (to hear) how great it was. No drama." 

SK: Called writing with his son "a gift." See story, part one. 

 * Best way to judge a book: *  

SK: "... To my mind, the ultimate success or failure of a book can be decided on how it sounds when it's read aloud. It's like the extreme close-up in a movie almost. All the blemishes show. I can't listen to James Patterson without laughing wildly to myself." 

http://girlzombieauthors.blogspot.com

The Kings in Milwaukee! #horror #writing

By Christine Verstraete

It was a banner night Saturday as the King of Horror, Stephen King,  and his son, Owen King, visited Milwaukee on one of the legs of a national tour for their jointly written, newly released book,   Sleeping Beauties . 

(Photo: Justin Hamelin)

A group of us were on hand, albeit in different rows and sections, for the amazing event, which featured King and his son talking about their collaboration and other related topics. Attending were:  Rondo Award-winner Justin Hamelin, author of (THICKER THAN BLOOD), Stephen King enthusiast Will Reckling and author Christian A.  Larsen ( THE BLACKENING OF FLESH ) Check out his blog post on the event. I drove in with fellow author Dawn Napier ( STAR PACK ), and also spotted  W.D. Gagliani ( WOLF’S BLIND ), and David Benton, author of the upcoming novel, FAUNA. Mary McDonald, author of (INFECTION) also was up in the balcony. 

In one word: wow. It wasn't a long event, the two Kings read an excerpt each, talked, and answered a few questions for just over an hour. But it was enough. The one drawback was that the theater was kept totally dark - I mean pitch black - with only the stage lit. Makes note-taking near impossible. But years of taking notes and interviewing came into good practice. Pretty proud of myself that I was able to write fairly legibly and keep the lines spaced - without seeing what I was writing!

** NOTE: I'm writing this in two parts. Come back tomorrow  for part two - for both men's thoughts and advice on writing.



Following are some of the memorable quotes from the evening (at least to me). A warning: anyone who follows King knows he is very opinionated politically and the two men also use f-bombs quite liberally. 

This is a huge 700+ word book. The premise of Sleeping Beauties is that women all over the world are disappearing, going to sleep, shrouded in a cocoon.


(Photo: Dawn Napier)

Comments on the book: 

Stephen King:  What kind of world is it "when a sex that produced Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, a sex that cannot even fold a shirt, is left in charge..."

SK: "We got a ton of wonderful reviews and some sh** reviews..." In one commentary, someone said. "one surprise is one character is a talking fox. As far as we're concerned, that shouldn't be a surprise at all."

On the collaboration:

Owen King: Talking about a game at home with the family. "What we all like to do is pitch ideas. In this case, I thought of the worst things that would happen and thought of my dad. This one I brought to him."

SK: "I thought it was too good not to do it. I would've felt like a thief if I'd taken it." So they decided to collaborate. "I got a chance to work with my son on a book. To have any kid want to collaborate with you on a long form of art is just a gift."

On the writing:

SK: In trying to weave one narrative so that it would be one story and not recognizable as Owen's part or his part: "Owen said we'd put brackets in the center and fill it in, and it'd be the most rotten place. That way it felt like weaving. That was kind of fun."

OK : "We also rewrote each other." When asked what he would say to his father if a part sucked, he said. "You just tell him. That never happened. A couple times I'd say I'm not crazy about the idea..." Or he said his father would say he didn't like something he did: "We'd find another way to agree, to make it work." 

On movies: Their favorites? 

SK: "The Babadook."

OK: "IT and I'm not just saying that."


 On Stanley Kubrick's version of The Shining (1980, with Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall):

SK: "It's like a beautiful shiny Cadillac that didn't have an engine in it. When I started the book, you bend a black piece of metal and see if it will break. I saw (Jack) Torrance as a tragedy and the hotel worked on him.

"... I said, Jack Nicholson was crazy... he had nowhere to go. Even then I thought Shelley Duvall was a scream machine. If I do it again as a TV series, I'd give it room to breathe."

Funniest comment: 

OK: On his father's choice about signing the books in blue ink instead: "He said, 'I'm not signing with that. Black is death.' I said, he's such a f**** weirdo. He has so many superstitions." To which the father agreed, "Yes, I have a fair number of superstitions." 

And speaking of signed copies - they had 400 books at the event that had been pre-signed. Then the event organizers said they mixed the books so they'd be distributed randomly. I really didn't expect to get a signed copy. 
So this BIG surprise when I got home and opened it: Cool or what???
Funny thing: I was in a line that the person distributing them had to grab more books, so I took the second book on the stack from the next person. How fortunate was that?? 
Don't forget to come back to the blog tomorrow for part two on Stephen and Owen King, and their thoughts on writing.

(http://girlzombieauthors.blogspot.com)

So Excited! Going to see King!

A first! I'm going to go hear Stephen King and his son, Owen, tonight at the Pabst Theatre in Milwaukee!

The event is part of their tour for their new jointly written and recently released book, Sleeping Beauties . (Just released and it's #1 in several categories and #16 overall on Amazon.)

Sounds interesting and strange. The premise: what would happen if women disappeared?

We'll see... I really want to hear the two of them, and here's hoping I get one of the signed copies! I'll be sharing more on the blog, so be sure to check back!

About the book:

In a future so real and near it might be now, something happens when women go to sleep: they become shrouded in a cocoon-like gauze. If they are awakened, if the gauze wrapping their bodies is disturbed or violated, the women become feral and spectacularly violent. And while they sleep they go to another place, a better place, where harmony prevails and conflict is rare.

One woman, the mysterious “Eve Black,” is immune to the blessing or curse of the sleeping disease. Is Eve a medical anomaly to be studied? Or is she a demon who must be slain? Abandoned, left to their increasingly primal urges, the men divide into warring factions, some wanting to kill Eve, some to save her. Others exploit the chaos to wreak their own vengeance on new enemies. All turn to violence in a suddenly all-male world. - From Amazon