Friday, October 28, 2016

Q&A with Gregory L. Hall, author of At the End of Church Street





Now available from Fiery Seas Publishing is the young adult fantasy-horror At the End of Church Street by author Gregory L. Hall.



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 always loved telling tales, whether it was superheroes fighting Martians or a ghost that hid out by our trashcans at night. Of course, both of these were based off of fact, so my imagination didn’t have to go far. I still see the ghost out there on trash night.

What was your first book/story published?

My old high school magazine asked for tributes to Poe so I wrote a story called ‘When the Lightning Flashes’. I never retire any idea so I later did it on stage as part of a Halloween play, then as a short film, and finally got it published in a professional magazine. When I put out my short story collection, ‘Lightning’ was an obvious first choice. I still have to turn it into a musical. Possibly a sock puppet show as well.

What inspired you to write At the End of Church Street?

I had been a stand-up and improv comic for twenty-five years. I was burned out and didn’t want to be gone every weekend anymore. After sitting around the house for a couple weeks, my wife said “Oh no. You’re not going to shut down and stop being creative. Go write a novel.” I told her I was too tired to be funny and she suggested I switch to horror (because I’m such a fan). I didn’t want to write the same old monster shtick. The idea of a vampire story without an actual vampire in it challenged me. I used to know a group of Goth kids when I worked at a haunted house attraction in Orlando and thought they had such tragic personal stories. Of course they’d go to Burger King for lunch and flash fake fangs as they munched on a Whopper. Not selling the ‘I’m a real vampire’ gig very well. So I saw humor too. A story formed around them.

What character in At the End of Church Street is the most/least like you, and in what ways?

There’s an old man who takes care of the Goth kids named Renfield. He drools a lot and says things like ‘beedily bop’ as a nervous tick and keeps waiting for the Mother Ship. I think anyone who knows me can clearly see I wrote myself directly into the story.

What is your favorite part in At the End of Church Street?

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Author Guest Post: C.J. Lake




Hmm, a reading from a mysterious fortune-teller on Halloween...what can go wrong?

This is how my new book, Impulse, begins... Cady and her roommate Torie leave their Boston apartment one night to head to a fortune-teller's shop in Salem. Cady goes only as a favor to Torie, never imagining she will hear more than a few prepackaged, sunny cliches. Instead, what she hears is enough to drive her straight to the nearest bar...

Buy Link: Amazon

This is where she meets Mick Croft and their stormy, intense, and at times, comical journey to love begins. Without a doubt, I love Halloween and the days, even weeks, leading up to it represent my favorite time of the year. Not only is New England gorgeous in October, but it's enveloped in the kind of festive Halloween ambiance that I include in my story...like rustling trees and scattering leaves, wind-chimes and thunder, shadowy nightfall and fog. Halloween brings with it what I call a fun-eeriness, which I hope I convey in the setting, as Mick and Cady try to stay apart (well, are they really trying? Hmm...doubtful.)

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

31 Days of Halloween: The Dead Boyfriend: A Fear Street Novel Review



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.

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Review - Haven of Evil


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.

Q&A with Neal Chase, author of Worthy of Song and Story



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?

Monday, October 24, 2016

Spook Up Your Yard on Halloween Night




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.

Q&A with Joshua C. Cook, author of Bridgebreaker




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?