The Humbug Murders
by L.J. Oliver
Publisher: Pocket Books
Pub. Date: October 27, 2015
ISBN: 978-1476792347
Pages: 390
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:
 
When it comes to classic Christmas tales there's nothing better than Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. The Ebeneezer Scrooge story has been retold countless times on stage, television and in movie theaters. Disney even did their version with Uncle Scrooge in the 1980s. A new Ebeneezer Scrooge story is now available in bookstores, titled The Humbug Murders by New York Times Bestselling Author L.J. Oliver (Scott Ciencin and Elizabeth Wilson).

Set way before the events in A Christmas Carol, The Humbug Murders centers on Ebeneezer Scrooge when he was in his 30's working in Cheapside, London in the year 1833, six days before Christmas. It's been five years since Belle broke his heart and he has become a cold hearted man who despises the holiday season. What started out as a boring evening turns into a complicated one when his old mentor, Reginald Fezziwig, arrives at his office for an unexpected business meeting. At first Ebeneezer believes the man is an impostor, but he quickly realizes that this man standing in front of him may be in fact a ghost. Adelaide Owen, the young woman trying to become his new clerk, witnesses the shocking scene.

As soon as the ghost disappeared, the local authorities shows up suspecting that Ebeneezer has murdered a businessman - Reginald Fezziwig. With only Adelaide defending that he is innocent, Ebeneezer is determined to clear his name and hunt down the killer that leaves a message near the victims - Humbug.

As more bodies quickly piles up, Ebeneezer and Adelaide have no choice, but to rely on a young reporter, Charles Dickens for help. They must go into the dark underbelly of London, a place were greed and death stalks every corner.

Bittersweet Dreams
by V.C. Andrews
Publisher: Pocket Books
Pub. Date: October 27, 2015
ISBN: 978-1451650907
Pages: 390
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

I couldn't have this year's Halloween Madness event without at least featuring one title by the great Gothic author V.C. Andrews. Sadly, the author of Flowers in the Attic passed away in 1986, but at least two new titles are published each and every year, written by the ghost writer, Andrew Neiderman.

Being released in paperback and in e-book formats is Bittersweet Dreams. The novel centers on the Mayfair Cummings, a intellectual gifted teenager with a not-so great life. Her mother died when was she was very young and it has impacted her ever since. However, her father has slowly gotten on with his life and has remarried to the sometimes cruel Julie, whom Mayfair absolutely despises. She doesn't like to refer to her as her stepmother, but as her father's wife. While her younger stepsister, Allison, tries to get close to her, Mayfair could care less about her.

Mayfair has never been popular with the boys in her school as they all see her as an egghead and the girls make fun of her. Her only friend is Joy, a teen with an eating disorder. However, after getting a slight makeover (makeup and dressing more her age), she begins to get the attention of boys in her class, especially the popular senior Carlton James. What she never expected was to have an older admirer - her teacher Mr. Taylor.

While the book is more of a stand-alone read, the cover art has "The Forbidden" written on it, so I'm guessing this is part of the series that includes The Forbidden Sister, The Forbidden Heart (e-book) and Roxy's Story; though Bittersweet Dreams is not related to those stories. "The Forbidden" is also on the cover for next year's Sage's Eyes.

American Hunter: How Legendary Hunters Shaped America
by Willie Robertson & William Doyle
Publisher: Howard Books
Pub. Date: October 27, 2015
ISBN: 978-1501111334
Pages: 272
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:
 
Hunting has gotten a bad rap over the years due to public shootings, poaching, PETA and politicians who want to eliminate the 2nd Amendment. Hunting has been a part of American history way before the first Europeans set foot on our country. It all started with Native Americans, whom taught the English colonists how to hunt. The animals weren't killed for sport, but instead they were killed for food and the fur & hide were used for clothing.

Being released today in bookstores is American Hunter: How Legendary Hunters Shaped America by Willie Robertson & William Doyle. You might recognize the name Willie Robertson as he is the CEO of Duck Commander and the star of A&E's Duck Dynasty. I know the Robertson family gets a bad rap due to a few controversies that have occurred over the years. While I don't personally participate in hunting, I do have family members that hunt, so I do have a respect for it.

The book features true stories of America's greatest hunters, such as Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Buffalo Bill, Teddy Roosevelt and Ernest Hemingway. Of course there are a few stories that involve the Robertson clan. There is also a little bit of history on classic hunting weapons.

Greetings! I’m the author and illustrator for the “In the Time of the Dead Trilogy.” What holding these titles means is that I not only had the chance to write the books, but I was also able to do the covers and the interior artwork for them. For someone like me, a person who has always loved everything about books, it was kind of a dream come true. So what I’d like to do in this guest post is to show you the three different styles I used to do the interior work that is sprinkled through each of the books.

We’ll start with the first book in the series, “The Zombie Axiom.”


For all the books, I completed the illustrations digitally, using Photoshop. But as you can see in this book, I tried doing a bit of a pen and ink, crosshatching technique, where the darker values are built up with lines drawn upon lines. Like this:


And this:


Now, I really like working with this technique, and I was very satisfied with the finished pieces. However, for the next book I was interested in a look that wasn’t so hard-edged. I wanted something a bit more rough and dirty-feeling. This brings me to the images in the second book in the series, “The Warring Dead.”

The Bazaar Of Bad Dreams
by Stephen King
Publisher: Scribner
Pub. Date: November 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-1501111679
Pages: 512
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Author Stephen King, the master of horror suspense, will be releasing his newest collection of stories - The Bazaar Of Bad Dreams on  November 3, 2015 through Scribner, which will features 20 novellas and short stories.

The collection features a mix of never-before-published titles and previously released ones, such as Mile 81 (originally published as an e-book), Premium Harmony (published in The New Yorker), Batman and Robin Have an Altercation (published in Harper's Magazine), The Dune (published in Granta), A Death (published in The New Yorker), The Bone Church (published in Playboy), Morality (published in Esquire), Afterlife (published in Tin House), Ur (published as an e-book), Herman Wouk Is Still Alive (published in The Atlantic), Under the Weather (published in the Full Dark, No Stars paperback), Blockade Billy (previously published as a novella), Tommy (published in Playboy), The Little Green God of Agony (published in A Book Of Horrors), That Bus Is Another World (published in Esquire), Drunken Fireworks (previously published as an audiobook) and Summer Thunder (published in Turn Down The Lights). Previously unpublished titles includes Mister Yummy, Obits and Bad Little Kid, though the latter was published as an audiobook in Europe.

While Mr. King is known for his horror novels, not all of the stories in this collection are meant to be scary as there are dramas, character studies, science fiction and thrillers. It would take me forever to go over each and every story, so I'm going to pick just my favorites.

Blockade Billy is a baseball tale about a minor-league player, William "Billy" Blakely, that is brought in to be the catcher for the New Jersey Titans. He becomes a great addition to to team and gets the nickname "Blockade Billy" for his ability to stop runners from crossing home plate. Sadly, Blakely has a deadly past that eventually catches up with him. I read the novella when it was originally released in 2010 and I absolutely enjoyed it. It's a great baseball story, but with a Stephen King twist.

Premium Harmony is a short, but moving tale about a man named Ray Burkett who loses his wife and dog while on his way to Walmart to buy grass seed. It's a fast-paced tale set in Mr. King's fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine. It's simple, but well-written story that stays in your head long after you finish reading it.

Despite my love for all things horror, I had never watched the Poltergeist films until I was in my mid twenties. I don't have any explanation for the for the delay as the movies played countless times on TBS and TNT during the 1990s. After watching a segment on some entertainment show about the curse of the Poltergeist movies, I only then became interested in watching them. Luckily, at the time it was near Halloween, so I was able to purchase all the films at my local Walmart.

To make a long story short, I quickly fell in love with the franchise, yes, even the third and final installment. I'm not a fan of remakes or so-called reboots, so I wasn't thrilled when I heard that the original film was being remade. I had no attention of ever watching the film, but I got bored a few nights ago and watched a free screener of the remake.

Instead of featuring the Freeling family, the remake centers on Eric and Amy Bowen and their children, Kendra, Griffin and Madison, moving into a new home, despite the fact that Eric has lost his job. It doesn't take long for Griffin to figure out that the house is haunted as he hears noises in the wall, electronic devices goes crazy and his little sister Madison is talking to someone or something that can't be seen.

Of course nobody believes Griffin that is until the night Eric and Amy go out to dinner and Kendra is in charge of babysitting. Both Kendra and Griffin are attacked by a paranormal force, and Madison disappears into thin air.

2. Enter the link to your terrifying tale in the haunting list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in a curse).

 

3. Visit other haunters in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other posts and possible become a new creeper.  The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.
 

I was freaked out when I read Suffer the Children by John Saul when I was a teenager. I've been wanting to reread it, but I can't dare myself to do it.

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