St. Martin's Press; 276 pages; $18.99; Amazon

Once upon a time, there were young adult horror novels that didn't contain glittering vampires, dystopian worlds, or supernatural romances. Yep, back in the middle 1980s throughout the 1990s, there were a slew of YA horror novels, mostly published by Point Horror. Of course one of the most popular series at the time was Fear Street by R.L. Stine (who later created the Goosebumps series). Each novel played out like an 80s' slasher flick with the main character typically being a female teenager who is either being stalked by a killer or has stumbled into a supernatural plot involving the Fear family.

In 2014, R.L. Stine brought back the Fear Street series with Party Games. Now available from St. Martin's Press is the fifth installment in the relaunch series, titled The Dead Boyfriend: A Fear Street Novel.

Set in the fictional Shadyside, Ohio, the novel centers on a teenager named Caitlin, who is thrilled to be dating the new boy in town, Blade. Despite the objections of all her friends, she quickly falls in love with him. Sadly, Blade doesn't feel the same for Caitlin. After a brief public argument, Caitlin kills Blade in self-defense. With no witness in sight, she flees the crime scene, hoping she can get away with the murder.

Unfortunately, this is a horror story, so things don't go quite as easy as Caitlin thought it would be. It seemed Blade had another admirer - Deena Fear, a descendant of Simon Fier (Fear). The girl has never been popular in school, mostly thanks to her Gothic looks and cold-hearted attitude. Her obsession with Blade goes way beyond the grave when she uses a little bit of witchcraft to bring him back from the dead.

Cover Artist: Artrocity; 265 pages

He turned to walk back home. A woman in a black dress stood a few paces in front of him. The woman’s eyes were black marbles embedded in a sunken face. Her white hair hung down over her shoulders like spaghetti strings, and there were more cracks in her face than there were on a broken sidewalk. A foul stench seemed to follow her around – the scent of rotting meat. 

Kevin grimaced and held his nose. The horrid odor clung to him like stench on a decomposed corpse. “What in the –” excerpt, Haven of Evil by Melvin Rivers


Now available in paperback and on Kindle is the horror-thriller "Haven of Evil" by author Melvin Rivers. With Halloween less than one week away, this is the perfect time to read a spin-chilling story.

What is the book about?

(Blurb) - Haven of Evil, a book of supernatural terror, contains bone-chilling terror that is unleashed on an unsuspecting couple who moves into their new home after a flood had destroyed the old one.

When Kevin and Sandra Wilson’s home and personal possessions were destroyed by flood waters, the couple relocated to a town called Havenville. Things started out rough when they avoided hitting a mysterious woman on the road. Later Kevin was attacked by hawks in a cemetery where a stranger rescued him. Kevin and the stranger become fast friends, but later the stranger wasn't who he had appeared to be.

After some tragic and terrifying events Sandra goes into a murderous rage not long after Kevin finds out about an evil that dwelled inside their house--an evil that will change their lives forever. In this tale of horror, some will live and others will not. 


Where can you purchase the book?

Final Thoughts: I've been a fan of haunted house films and books ever since I saw the 1986 horror-comedy House when I was a kid. Naturally, I became interested in reading Haven of Evil. With a creepy cover art, and of course with Halloween just around the corner, I eagerly sat down and read Haven of Evil with a cup of coffee nearby.

Being released this winter from Fiery Seas Publishing is the middle grade fantasy novel Worthy of Song and Story, book one in the Stian The Viking Adventure series by author Neal Chase.


The author has taken a few minutes out of his busy schedule for a Q&A about his debut novel.



When did you become interested in storytelling?

I’ve been interested in storytelling since I was a kid. In third and fourth grade, I wrote the adventures of Joe Smoe. Since then it stuck with me. Whether storytelling was writing short stories and poetry or playing role playing games it was something I really enjoyed. Yes, I was a Dungeons and Dragons geek, but I also played Recon, Boot Hill, and other games. Not sure if that makes it any better, but at least it makes me well rounded. As I got older, my storytelling changed to making up bedtime stories for my kids. Finally, after years of thinking about it, I sat down and started writing novels.

What was your first book/story published?

Worthy of Song and and Story is my debut novel.

What inspired you to write Worthy of Song and Story?

I love mythology, especially Norse mythology. What is better than Vikings and mythology? Nothing I can think of. But I didn’t want to write a book like all the others, where Odin and Thor are the heroes. I wanted something with a twist. Stories where the hero is someone unexpected—a son of Loki that almost no one knows exists.

What character in Worthy of Song and Story is the most/least like you, and in what ways?

Halloween Night is just over a week away, and there's no better time than the present to order your last minute decorations for your yard, class Halloween party, or for whatever you are planning for Oct. 31st.

For me, I decorate the yard each and every hear with spooky decorations, such as foam tombstones, zombie ground breakers, plastic rats, plastic spiders, hanging ghouls, and air-blown characters (2 Frankenstein's monsters and 1 witch). The only thing that could make the scene even creepier would be a little bit of fog.

With so many different fog machines on the market, I was overwhelmed with which one I should try. Eventually, I went with the 1byone Halloween Fog Machine, which retails for $39.99. There are seven different sizes and styles of fog machines on www.1byone.com, but I thought the 400Watt Fog Machine would be the perfect fit for what I need for Halloween Night.

The fog machines measures 9.84 x 7.54 x 4.49 in. It uses a power source input of AC 120V 60Hz and uses a 5A, 125V fuse. The tank holds up to 300ml (0.079 gallons). (Only use water-based fog solutions). The fog output is 2000CFM (cubic ft per minute). It comes with a 6.5ft wired one-switch remote control.

The fog machine come nicely packed in a simple black box with the lettering and illustrations in white. The actual machine is tightly stored inside the box. The only assembly required is for the metal handle, which takes less than a minute to put together.

I highly recommend reading the instructions before testing the fog machine out. Like I already mentioned, make sure to use a water-based fog solution (or otherwise known as fog juice or liquid).


To use the machine, you need to untwist the tank cap and pour in whatever desired amount of fog juice that you want to use. Replace the cap, making sure it's tightly secure. Place the machine on a flat surface. Plug the AC cord into an outlet. The machine will take several minutes to heat up, up to five minutes.

Once the machine is ready, it will spray out a blast of fog from the nozzle. The it will stop and reheat before it will release any more fog will be released.

Available now is the urban fantasy Bridgebreaker, book two of The Echo Worlds series by Joshua C. Cook.


The author has taken a few minutes out of his busy schedule for a Q&A about his newest novel.



When did you become interested in storytelling?

Hmm... Well… I was always one of those kids with the ‘over active imagination’ growing up. As I grew up in rural Florida on a farm, I had a lot of time to myself to make up stories in my head. I usually acted them out in the quiet of my room, and tried not to let my older sister bug me about it.

As I got older, I got more involved in Drama and Theater, and went that route. The older I got the more I drifted away from creating new stories. Until later on I came back to it as an adult. I had been yearning to do something creative again (my day job isn’t super creative.) I hot upon writing as it wasn’t an expensive way to scratch that itch. (I have two kids got to watch those costs!) Haven’t looked back since.

What was your first book/story published?

The first book I published was ‘Oversee of One.’ Short, but interesting story. I had NO idea what I was doing at the time. Just wrote something that came to me.

What inspired you to write Bridgebreaker?

Bridgebreaker and its series were inspired by an idea. See when I write, I start with a ‘seed sentence’ a single idea that the book comes from. In the case of the ‘Echo Worlds’ series, the idea was that creation had echoes. That was it. Everything flowed from that single idea. I have notebook of these ‘seed sentences’ so lots of ideas to keep writing from.

What character in Bridgebreaker is the most/least like you, and in what ways?

Now available from Montlake Romance is the romantic suspense novel Black Diamond, book two in the Wilds of the Bayou Series by author Susannah Sandlin.



The author has taken a few minutes out of her busy schedule for a Q&A about her newest novel.



When did you become interested in storytelling?

Until six or seven years ago, I was a career journalist, so I have been a storyteller since I co-founded my high school literary magazine more years ago than I care to admit. I wrote my first novel in 2009 as an exercise in turning my own experiences as a New Orleanian during Hurricane Katrina into a fantasy story. I got hooked on fiction-writing as I stumbled my way through that first book, and just kept going!

What was your first book/story published?

That first novel was also my first published novel Royal Street was the first in the Sentinels of New Orleans urban fantasy series and was published under the name Suzanne Johnson. Book five in that series comes out next month! I was incredibly blessed to have gotten a great agent and then get published my first time out.

What inspired you to write Black Diamond?

I began a new series, Wilds of the Bayou, this past spring with Wild Man’s Curse. The series is about a team of wildlife enforcement agents (i.e., highly trained game wardens) working in rural, bayou- and marsh-covered Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana. Each book features a different agent, a different case, a different romance, so they can stand alone. I knew I wanted to write about agent Jena Sinclair, a rare female game warden, and began reading about the rash of dangerous synthetic opioid drugs coming into the U.S. these days—“bath salt drugs,” they’re called. I started thinking about how someone might try moving drugs into and through this rural parish, which sits halfway between Houston and New Orleans, and then how my wildlife agents might get caught up in it. Add a mysterious, reclusive hero, and Black Diamond was born!

What character in Black Diamond is the most/least like you, and in what ways?

Now available from Gorillas With Scissors Press is the horror novel COOLANT by author Kenneth Brown.


The author has taken a few minutes out of his busy schedule for a Q&A about his newest novel.



When did you become interested in storytelling?

I believe I’ve always been interested in telling stories. I remember setting up intricate (for a four to five year old anyway!) stories with my action figures as a kid. Comics also played a big role in that as well. For the longest time I wanted to be a comic book illustrator, but I never could amass the skill in the arts for it. In high school that’s when I found out about Dungeon’s and Dragons and learned I loved to truly just make up stuff.

What was your first book/story published?

That would be “Dead End Drive Thru” and “False Awakenings”. Both are short stories. These two were published stories are part of the Nightmares and Echoes 2 Charity Anthology. It’s a book series where half the proceeds went to charity, St. Jude and Camp Hope I believe.

What inspired you to write Coolant?

It's been awhile since I posted a "Fitness & Coffee" that wasn't a review of some sorta product, so I thought I would take this time to share what I've been up as of lately. For starters, I have had a chest cold for nearly two weeks, and I now have a bit of the flu bug as well. Add on top a bit of weight gain from a lack of exercise for the past month, I guess you can say I'm not currently at my best.

This year's Halloween event hasn't been easy on me. There have been several posts I have skipped or just didn't feel like writing. None of these reviews/posts had to be published on specific dates, so I'm not too worried about it. Hopefully, I'll feel like writing one or two those posts later today.

Speaking of Halloween, Oct. 31st is one week tomorrow. Each and every year, I put together 120+ treat bags full of candy for the trick-or-treaters and I decorate the yard with creepy tombstones and other stuff. As I am writing this, I have about 60 treat bags put together. I won't put up the decorations until next weekend or on Halloween Day; all depending on how I feel. Plus, I normally carve a Jack-O-Lantern and roast the pumpkin seeds. I do have a pumpkin, but whether I actually carve it is another story.

I have several books I need to read and review, including The Dead Boyfriend (my book marker is in place) and The Mirror Sisters by V.C. Andrews. Then I need to read High Heat that I had checked out at the library.

TV-Y; 142 minutes; $19.99 ; Walmart

Arriving on DVD this Tuesday from Walt Disney Home Entertainment is Doc McStuffins: Toy Hospital, featuring the full-length adventure - Welcome to McStuffinsville, and 4 bonus episodes. As an added bonus the DVD comes with a fee Toysponder Bracelet.

Created by Chris Nee, Doc McStuffins debuted on Disney Junior in 2012 and quickly become a big hit for the cable channel. The series centers on Doctor Dottie "Doc" McStuffins, a seven-year-old who wants to be a doctor when she grows up. In the meantime, she settles for being a doctor to her toys, fixing up any injuries they receive from playing to rough. Doc even helps other toys in the neighborhood with the help of her own toys (Stuffy the Dragon , Hallie the Hippo, Lambie the Lamb, and Chilly the Snowman).

"Welcome To McStuffinsville" is the first episodes of the fourth season that aired during the summer. Doc's world is turned upside down when Grandma McStuffins reveals she has her very own magical stethoscope that can make toys come alive. Grandma gives Doc a toysponder that will transport her McStuffinsville, a big toy city where she will be working at the toy hospital.


The bonus episodes are all from the third season:

Baby McStuffins / Selfless Snowman - Doc and her little brother Donnie are excited when their parents inform them that they are going to adopt a baby. To get Doc time to practice being a big sister, her parents give her a baby doll. In the second story, Doc holds a stuffing donation drive.

Zonderkidz; 32 pages; $6.99; Amazon

Yes, I'm well aware this isn't really a "Fall Reads" book, but it is autumn and technically a activity book is a book, so here I am writing this review!

What exactly am I review?

Well, I'm reviewing The Berenstain Bears: Christmas Fun Sticker and Activity Book by Jan & Mike Berenstain. Published by Zonderkidz (a trademark of Zondervan), the 32-page book has over 50 reusable stickers.

You might remember me reviewing The Berenstain Bears: Bear CountryFun Sticker & Activity Book earlier this year. This book is very similar, containing puzzles and illustrations to color.


The activities in the book includes: