Paranormal and Horror Lovers discussion
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Ray
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Oct 19, 2013 10:51PM
I'm hungry for that fear--when imagery sneaks right off the page to scratch at my window and narrate my nightmare. I can't find the right books. Somebody help me! Any recommendations?
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I really enjoy Lisa Tuttle. He short fiction collection A Nest of Nightmares was good for chilling me.
Lee Newman's Dollar dreadfuls are pretty good. Eat totally got me. Strangely, I don't see him on here, but his books are available on Smashwords and Amazon. They're shorts (depending on how you feel about that. I'm not usually a fan, but with his horror, small doses are probably best ;) ) and only a buck apiece, not too shabby!
Not sure if I'm breaking a rule by recommending that you try one of mine. Plenty of people have told me that both of my novels have given them deep chills.
Harvey wrote: "Not sure if I'm breaking a rule by recommending that you try one of mine. Plenty of people have told me that both of my novels have given them deep chills."Harvey, I'd love to read your novels. What are the titles? If you have any YA readers in your life, here's mine
.
Thanks, Ray! They are The House of Wormshttp://www.amazon.com/The-House-of-Wo...
and The Bad Box
http://www.amazon.com/The-Bad-Box-ebo...
Both are available in paperback and Kindle editions.
Just looked at the description of your YA novel, Ray. It looks like a really fun read. Oddly enough I recently finished writing a children's book (not a YA, but a book for young children) with a character named Lula.
Hey Ray, I just looked at the sample of WESTWARD over at Zon, and your writing is first rate! I'm half tempted to buy a Kindle copy even though it's written for teenaged girls and I'm a middle aged man, LOL. BTW, do you find it a bit irritating that the "surprise me" feature of the sample allows readers to read stuff that happens late in the novel? I was playing with that feature for one of my own novels today and was annoyed to see that many of my plot twists are revealed. I really don't want people who intend to read my novels to know every twist before they even buy the book.
Joella wrote: "I really enjoy Lisa Tuttle. He short fiction collection A Nest of Nightmares was good for chilling me."Thanks, Joella. But I only find used copies over $50. Any other suggestions?
Heidi wrote: "Lee Newman's Dollar dreadfuls are pretty good. Eat totally got me. Strangely, I don't see him on here, but his books are available on Smashwords and Amazon. They're shorts (depending on how you fee..."Heidi, I have three kids and work so I feel great about shorts. I just read an excerpt on amazon. I'll try it now. thanks!
Harvey wrote: "Hey Ray, I just looked at the sample of WESTWARD over at Zon, and your writing is first rate! I'm half tempted to buy a Kindle copy even though it's written for teenaged girls and I'm a middle aged..."Hey, Harvey. Thanks so much for the kind words! I'm going to check out your books now. I haven't explored the 'surprise me' feature, but I see how that's bizarre it would take you so far into the book. I'm going to look. Be right back...
Harvey wrote: "Thanks, Ray! They are The House of Wormshttp://www.amazon.com/The-House-of-Wo...
and The Bad Box
http://www.amazon.com/The-Bad-Box-ebo...
Both are available in..."
Harvey! I went to Ohio State! How funny. I just purchased both books. The sneak peak looked great, and I love your covers. Did you design them yourself? Beautiful.
Oh, I forgot to check 'surprise me'...
Ray wrote: "Harvey wrote: "Thanks, Ray! They are The House of Wormshttp://www.amazon.com/The-House-of-Wo...
and The Bad Box
http://www.amazon.com/The-Bad-Box-ebo...
Both a..."
whoa. something happened to my format. thanks for sending me there--I have to fix it.
Hey Ray, thanks for buying them! OK, I'm going to Zon right now to pick up a copy of WESTWARD. Maybe it will bring out the inner teenage girl in me, LOL. Besides I'm playing with the idea of writing a YA (mostly aimed at teenage boys, even though I doubt very many of them read), but first I want to write another horror novel for adults.Great that you went to OSU. I was a student there and also taught English there for a while, though I did most of my teaching at OU.
I remember the hang-on-sloopy fiasco. Wasn't that OU? I had many friends that attended. Graduated in pittsburgh and we all ended in ohio. You may have a hard time purchasing--I'm trying to fix it now. thanks so much for the support. I'm going to get into your books tomorrow.
Didn't have any trouble purchasing. It downloaded in about 20 seconds. BTW, after you read my books you'll probably be too frightened to ever read another horror novel, but let me recommend one anyway. I don't like many of the current horror writers, so for the past couple years I've been revisiting some of my old favorites like HPL, Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, etc., and while doing so I read H. G. Wells' THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU. Yeah, I know it's an old novel, but I was surprised by how much it creeped me out. I gather from your bio that you're an animal lover (so am I), and part of Wells' reason for writing it was his hatred of animal vivisection. The overall idea of the novel is deeply repulsive, and some of the scenes haunted me long after I finished. Good horror writing engages the reader's sense of pity, and this one surely does that.
Another good thing about THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU is that it's free on Kindle.
Harvey wrote: "Another good thing about THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU is that it's free on Kindle."Free is always good. I don't know why I never read that. It's been recommended to me a billion times. I'll download that now, as well. I haven't really been affected by much in the way of horror these days. The last I really remember is Poppy Z. Brite. I'm often disappointed, so I stopped trying for horror--got my fix through film. Ok, off to bed for me. It's nice to make a new friend. I'll let you know my progress on your books. Thanks again.
Yeah, Poppy Brite is a talented writer, but after reading EXQUISITE CORPSE I decided to give her a rest. In that novel she seems morbidly interested in describing what the inside of a human body looks like. I don't mind gore, but it's not why I like horror fiction. I know this will sound trite and corny, but I think good horror writers are more interested in the minds and spirits of their characters than their innards and gall bladders. Horror writing should be about more than body parts--it should be about the strange things that we glimpse out of the corners of our eyes but can't (or don't want to) see clearly.
Harvey wrote: "Yeah, Poppy Brite is a talented writer, but after reading EXQUISITE CORPSE I decided to give her a rest. In that novel she seems morbidly interested in describing what the inside of a human body lo..."It doesn't sound trite. I very much agree, and have that philosophy fresh in mind because I fell asleep to hitchcock. I think gore can be effective when used appropriately, but I like it best in slasher films. Horror writing cuts deepest when it's clean--we (humans) harbor dark pits of imagination of which we aren't even aware. What's scariest about horror is that we're capable of sympathizing with the most horrific characters. Our apple was needing something to believe in, to explain where the sun goes at night. All well and good, but dip a toe in that and a portal opens on the other side. There's a lot of scary out there. And we made ourself vulnerable to it.
BTW, if you do get around to reading one of mine, I recommend trying WORMS first. I think it's a bit better than BOX. (It has more worms, at least.)
I'm dying (no pun intended!) for a really good, really chilling vampire story. Something that makes me think twice before turning out the lights at night. Glittery vampires and vampire sex-romps need not apply. Any suggestions?
Salems Lot by Stephen King and They Thirst by Robert McCammon would both be good options
