Here is this month's roundup of anticipated horror releases! ( If you plan on purchasing any of the books on this page, it would be awe...
Publication date: April 2nd 2021 Links: Amazon | Goodreads I ’m Sam Quinn, the werewolf book nerd owner of the Slaughtered Lamb Bookstore...
Review || The Dead Don't Drink at Lafitte's by Seana Kelly
Publication date: April 2nd 2021
I’m Sam Quinn, the werewolf book nerd owner of the Slaughtered Lamb Bookstore and Bar. Things have been busy lately. While the near-constant attempts on my life have ceased, I now have a vampire gentleman caller. I’ve been living with Clive and the rest of his vampires for a few weeks while the Slaughtered Lamb is being rebuilt. It’s going about as well as you’d expect.My mother was a wicche and long dormant abilities are starting to make themselves known. If I’d had a choice, necromancy wouldn’t have been my top pick, but it’s starting to come in handy. A ghost warns me someone is coming to kill Clive. When I rush back to the nocturne, I find vamps from New Orleans readying an attack. One of the benefits of vampires looking down on werewolves is no one expects much of me. They don’t expect it right up until I take their heads.
Now, Clive and I are setting out for New Orleans to take the fight back to the source. Vampires are masters of the long game. Revenge plots are often decades, if not centuries, in the making. We came expecting one enemy, but quickly learn we have darker forces scheming against us. Good thing I’m the secret weapon they never see coming.
Today's Author Spotlight is author Glenn Maynard! Read on for the full interview. Publication date: December 30th 2020 Goodreads Lizzi...
Author Spotlight || Glenn Maynard
Today's Author Spotlight is author Glenn Maynard!
Read on for the full interview.
Publication date: December 30th 2020
Lizzie Borden took an axe... And so goes the song depicting the 1892 axe murders of her father and step-mother. Research indicates that a killer gene could be passed down through generations of family members, and evidence begins with Lizzie’s ancestor who murdered his mother in 1673. Chatroom with a View opens with a bone-chilling episode, and what’s left of Troy Cullen’s dysfunctional family keeps him even further from the normal integration with society. Troy’s life further unravels when his ex-girlfriend, Veronica, announces that she is pregnant. Troy loses control and plots to do unto others as they have done unto him. When Veronica digs into his family’s past, she exposes this killer gene; she must try to balance her obsession for a family with shielding herself and their baby from evil. But Troy has his own agenda, resulting in an epic showdown.
Can you start out by telling us a little about your latest work?
Where did you get the inspiration to write this story?
I wanted to write a story about a Social Media group moderator who lures his victims back to his house and keeps them hostage. The plot underwent major reconstruction during the writing process. I finalized the synopsis with three generation of chatrooms. Troy's grandfather would hold neighborhood gatherings in a log cabin on his property. Then his father did the same thing when he took over the property. It was their chatroom. Troy's chatroom was during the computer age, but he still had access to the chatroom on his property, and he had a score to settle. I was writing with Stephen King in mind, and the more I wrote, the darker the story became. It started out with horror but evolved into a thriller early on.When you developed the characters, did you already know who they were before you began writing or did they develop organically?
Which of your characters was your favorite to write and why?
In your opinion what makes a good story?
What led you to start writing?
Glenn, thank you so much for being a guest on Cats Luv Coffee Book Reviews!
Today's Author Spotlight is author Eric Leland! Read on for the full interview. Publication date: February 1st 2021 Goodreads Can you ...
Author Spotlight || Eric Leland
Today's Author Spotlight is author Eric Leland!
Read on for the full interview.
Publication date: February 1st 2021
Can you start out by telling us a little about your latest work?
In 1969, somewhere over South Vietnam, Captain Brandon Doran sits aboard an unmarked aircraft on final approach to a Top-Secret military base. A shadowy government operative offers a deal: in exchange for erasing Brandon's tarnished military record, he must ensure the recon team, to which he is about to be assigned, follows orders. Easy enough. Or so Brandon thinks.Where did you get the inspiration to write this story?
During a class for my MA I wrote a 25-page short story titled Recon Team: Mercury. That story was shortened to five pages and is now the prologue to Inhuman. For a NaNoWriMo idea I thought it would be interesting to see what happened when the rescuers came looking for the team that disappeared in my original short story. Inhuman is the result.I want to provide veterans with fiction that entertains, but also lets them know someone else out there knows how they feel when they stare at the ceiling at night..
When you developed the characters, did you already know who they were before you began writing or did they develop organically?
The character Jaran is heavily based on my wife’s experiences who was born in Vietnam. At an early age, she and her family fled to a refugee camp after the war. The chaos of displacement during war time seemed terrifying. I can’t really say which character I have the strongest connection to—John’s sense of duty; Chris’s refusal to take anything seriously; and Brandon’s severe depression and self-doubt—they’re all variations of me.What was one of the most surprising things you learned (about your story, about yourself, etc.) while writing?
In your opinion what makes a good story?
What led you to start writing?
Are you on social media and can your readers interact with you? What are your links?
Do you have a WIP? If so, can you tell us anything about it?
Thanks so much for participating in the Author Spotlight! Anything you'd like to add?
Eric, thank you so much for being a guest on Cats Luv Coffee Book Reviews!
Publication Date: May 18, 2018 Links: Amazon | Goodreads W hen TJ—a musical prodigy—witnesses a traumatic event as a child, his senses...
Guest Post || Shane Wilson - What I've Learned about My Creativity This Year
Publication Date: May 18, 2018
Links: Amazon | Goodreads
When TJ—a musical prodigy—witnesses a traumatic event as a child, his senses are overrun with intense hallucinations. Over the years, his visions increase in frequency and intensity, but he hides them from those he is closest to, including his best friend and musical partner, Lila, who challenges TJ to reject formulaic creation in order to create something beautiful and unique. But when Lila signs a record deal, TJ feels left behind and alone with his art and his visions.That’s when TJ meets an artist named Muna. In his eyes and visions, Muna is made of smoke, and as this magical woman helps him learn how to manage his visions and how to translate what he sees and hears into music and lyrics, she begins to disappear. His journey into Muna’s past is a journey to discover where inspiration originates and what happens to an artist when that inspiration is gone.
Read Now
by shane wilson
It’s really been a year, hasn’t it? We’ve all spent significant time thinking about how we never saw it coming—how we could never dream of a world that would almost simultaneously shut down or how the economy would never hit pause or how we would never keep kids home from school or how we wouldn’t all start working in sweatpants from out sofas. But these things happened, and what a trip it’s been. I won’t rehash all of the specifics. You were there. For once, we’ve had a near universal experience.
This past year has taught me two important things about my own creativity.
1. I need space to work.
Here, “space” should be read as an abstract concept more akin to “time” probably. In those first weeks, when we were all locked up inside and I wasn’t busy with the hectic day-to-day of driving to work and driving to the gym and running around and doing everything we all have to do every week, I was incredibly productive. I think I poured myself into my creative work to keep myself from thinking about the world. I finished an album. I revised a novel. I would finish up my job for the day, and I would plunge head-first into the projects I had been putting off because, well, what else did I have to do?
2. I need a change of scenery to rejuvenate creative energy.
As valuable as those early days of shut-down were to finishing projects, once those projects were completed, I was left looking for something new. But, as I’m sure we all can attest to, there is not much inspiration to be found in looking at the same four walls for months at a time. This is when I started to miss travel and human connection. Just this weekend, after receiving both doses of the Pfizer vaccine, I disappeared into a cabin in the mountains with my girlfriend (who was also completely vaccinated). We were safe, but we were someplace else. We played music and talked about songs and stories. It was the recharge that I absolutely needed. Now, I’m ready to work again—even after such a short time away.
What have you learned from the last year about yourself and your creative process?
About the Author
Born in Alabama and raised in Georgia, Shane is a child of the southeastern United States where he feels simultaneously at-home and out-of-place. He graduated from Valdosta State University in South Georgia with a Masters in English. He taught college English in Georgia for four years before moving to North Carolina in 2013.
Shane plays guitar and writes songs with his two-man-band, Sequoia Rising. He writes songs as he writes stories--with an emphasis on the magic of human experience. He tends to chase the day with a whiskey (Wild Turkey 101) and a re-run of The Office.
Shane's novels are A Year Since the Rain (Snow Leopard Publishing, 2016) and The Smoke in His Eyes (GenZ Publishing, 2018). Shane's short story, "The Boy Who Kissed the Rain" was the 2017 Rilla Askew Short Fiction Prize winner and was nominated for a 2018 Pushcart Prize. An adaptation of that story for the stage was selected for the Independence Theater Reading Series in Fayetteville, NC. More information about Shane can be found at: Shane Wilson Author
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Website
Coming Soon: New Music from Shane Wilson
Of All the Things I’ve Ever Said, I Mean This the Most is the new album from Shane Wilson’s music side project, Sequoia Rising. Recorded almost entirely during quarantine during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in a small room in Shane’s apartment, the album is an artifact of a particular brand of isolation and self-reflection.
On Of All the Things, lyrical storytelling takes the lead. The album’s ten tracks tell stories of young love gone sideways and the ways our lives can be haunted by our pasts.
Available Now on all Streaming Platforms!!
Today's Author Spotlight is author Peter Topside! Read on for the full interview. Publication date: April 13th 2021 Links: Amazon | ...
Author Spotlight || Peter Topside
Today's Author Spotlight is author Peter Topside!
Read on for the full interview.
Alexandra has returned to take over her father's church but is struggling to find her true purpose. Torn by her shaky loyalty to Christian Reed-the unstable town antihero who vanquished Blackheart years ago-and increasing efforts at seduction and manipulation from Blackheart himself, she is forced to face all her deepest traumas and insecurities.
As the town's only hope, Alexandra must gather her strength and transcend her terror in order to battle these adversities-or risk losing the very soul of Meadowsville.
Can you start out by telling us a little about your latest work?
In the first book of the Preternatural trilogy, readers are introduced to the town of Meadowsville, the home of the most popular urban myth, Mr. Smith. This vicious, vampire-like entity rules over this booming town by any means necessary, slaughtering its citizens, and upholding a long-standing tradition. Several residents form an unlikely alliance to combat the common threat of this dangerous monster and embark on an undertaking that will change each of them and their town forever.Set fifteen years after the vampire Blackheart was defeated, Meadowsville is left desolate and broken. Alexandra has returned to take over her father’s church but is struggling to find her true purpose. Torn by her shaky loyalty to Christian Reed—the unstable town antihero who vanquished Blackheart years ago—and increasing efforts at seduction and manipulation from Blackheart himself, she is forced to face her deepest traumas and insecurities. As the town’s only hope, Alexandra must gather her strength to transcend her terror. Will she defeat adversity or will her failure lose the very soul of Meadowsville?
Where did you get the inspiration to write this story?
I have always had a passion for writing and publishing my stories has been a lifelong goal. I spent my entire life being a fan of horror, and through my own personal experiences, developed characters and a story that were a really unique blend.When you developed the characters, did you already know who they were before you began writing or did they develop organically?
What is something about the genre that annoys you?
I have never read a book like Preternatural. Each book, while strongly linked to one another, has its own specific tone and story. I’ve read many horror books and felt that they sometimes become too complicated and overdetailed, and you lose track of the characters and plot. That was something I worked hard to avoid. So my books are easy reads, and can either be read ‘surface-level’ for the basic story and be purely entertainment, or they can be analyzed and picked apart to see the deeper themes, patterns, and other dynamics happening on each page.Thanks so much for participating in the Author Spotlight! Anything you'd like to add?
Peter, thank you so much for being a guest on Cats Luv Coffee Book Reviews and Happy Book Birthday to Preternatural:Evolution!
Publication date: April 13th 2021
This fast-paced adventure is a must-read for horror aficionados and lovers of all things that are scary, gruesome and thought-provoking.
Welcome to Meadowsville, the home of the most popular urban myth, Mr. Smith. This viscous, vampire-like entity rules over this booming town by any means necessary, slaughtering its citizens, and upholding a long-standing tradition. Follow several residents as they form an unlikely alliance to combat the common threat of this dangerous monster and embark on an undertaking that will change each of them and their town forever.
No pranks for April Fools in this list! Here is this month's roundup of anticipated horror releases! ( If you plan on purchasing any o...
Publication date: February 11th 2021 Links: Amazon | Goodre ads A rash of strange and horrifying births sweeps through London in the new...
Review || The Children God Forgot by Graham Masterton
Publication date: February 11th 2021
A rash of strange and horrifying births sweeps through London in the new horror thriller from master of the genre Graham Masterton.
A SERIES OF STRANGE BIRTHSA young woman is rushed to the hospital with stabbing pains. The chief surgeon performs a C-section, and delivers a catastrophically malformed foetus that is somehow alive...
A DEVASTATING ATTACKSewage engineer Gemma is plunged into a ghostly darkness in the tunnel where she works. She escapes, but her boss goes missing in the chaos. He is later found alive... but his legs have been severed and his eyes pulled out.
A SUPERNATURAL THREATDC Jerry Pardoe and DS Jamila Patel of the supernatural squad must team up once more to solve the mystery and save the city. But, if they are to succeed, first they must delve into the dark arts of witchcraft...
Publication date: October 28th 2020 Links: Amazon | Goodreads Ever wondered what it would be like if hunted animals were able to fight ba...
Review || The Lodge by Chris Coppel
Publication date: October 28th 2020
Ever wondered what it would be like if hunted animals were able to fight back?
The Lodge unveils the mystery of a hunting lodge in the remote hills of the Scottish Highlands during the Christmas holidays. After the report of an accidental death at the lodge, Andrew, a young constable from the nearest town, drives up through a growing blizzard.
Snowbound, Andrew and the guests take cover at the lodge as the terrifying ordeal unfolds. These animals have souls. Souls that won’t rest until they’ve had revenge...
But will the hunters become the hunted?
Publication date: February 10th 2021 Links: Amazon | Goodreads F ed up with playing by the rules, recent university graduat...
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