Here is August's roundup of anticipated horror releases! ( If you plan on purchasing any of the books on this page, it would be awesome...
Today's Author Spotlight is author Peter W. Blaisdell! Read on for the full interview. Publication date: November 1st, 2020 Amazon | G...
Author Spotlight || Peter W. Blaisdell, Author of The Lords of The Summer Season
Today's Author Spotlight is author Peter W. Blaisdell!
Read on for the full interview.
What's your latest release?
(Content warning: I tried to capture some of the 'edginess' of this time and place, so there is vulgarity in certain scenes and dialogue. Also, even the supernatural and animal characters aren't the usual cuddly fantasy tropes; they can be a bit unhinged at times!)
Can you start out by telling us a little about your latest work?
However, this era had a darker side, so there are scenes where creative forces run amok. The villains represent this – I’ve included some really vile villains. Even Bradan sometimes gets carried away and unleashes powers he really can’t control.
I was after contrasts, so some of the novel is painted in shades of psychedelic pastels while other scenes are done in dark grey.
As in all of my novels, I’ve included (I hope) cool supporting characters, including the aforementioned 6th century witch, tons of ghosts (including the one haunting his motorcycle), and Bradan’s eccentric band-mates. Bradan also has a pet wolf, Tintagel. ‘Pet’ is probably the wrong word. Tintagel represents atavistic, implacable nature and has a sardonic sense of humor often directed at Bradan.
When you developed the characters, did you already know who they were before you began writing or did they develop organically?
What attracted you to the genre(s) you write in?
What is one of your favorite words? OR Is there a word you find yourself using too often?
Would you rather live in a haunted mansion or a cottage surrounded by fairytale creatures?
Are you on social media and can your readers interact with you? What are your links?
Do you have a favorite line that you've written? What is it and why do you like it?
Bradan needs Lubna’s acquiescence to study in the Caliph’s libraries. He may need her help to survive.”
The lines above are from a flash-back scene in another of my fantasies, THE LORDS OF POWDER. I like them because they try to capture a setting and a mood. They also introduce the two characters and then show that one of the characters, Bradan, is in mortal danger.
Peter Blaisdell lives in the LA area. He has a PhD in Biochemistry and has conducted postdoctoral research in molecular biology as well as publishing peer-reviewed research papers in these fields. He has also published business articles on managing research in technology companies. None of this has much to do with the literary side of his life, where he is an active reviewer of fantasy, science fiction and magical realism as well as general literature. The Lords of Powder and The Lords of Oblivion are novels in a fantasy/thriller series. Each book can be read as stand-alone novels or together as part of a series.
Part of the fun of having a 1500 year old protagonist in this series is that the author can plunder history for exiting times and places to deploy in the story. To that end, most of The Lords of Powder and The Lords of Oblivion take place in modern times, respectively, Miami circa 1978 and San Francisco today. However, some chapters were set in tenth-century Spain, eight-century Lindisfarne, and fifth-century Tintagel. Future books in the series will use other cool settings.
Publication date: July 26th, 2021 Links: Amazon | Goodreads Publisher: Inked in Gray Victory at all costs. Even at the price of our own ...
Feature Fiction || What Remains: An Inked in Gray Anthology
Publication date: July 26th, 2021Publisher: Inked in Gray
Victory at all costs. Even at the price of our own life, the desire to survive transcends all rational thought.
What Remains brings together fifteen tales of horror, fantasy, and science fiction. From sacrificing loved ones or oneself, to doing what it takes to keep them alive, these stories shake the soul, rip out its insecurities and flay them on the page.
Careful who you trust. Some quandaries have no right answer when we cannot save what we love most—or when isolation, desperation, and betrayal leave you no choice.
Take the journey with us to see What Remains when civility, decency, and sanity have all but fled.
Read now
Authors:
R.A. Busby
About the Author: An award-winning literature teacher and die-hard horror fan, R. A. Busby is also the author of “Bits” (Short Sharp Shocks #45), “Street View” (Collective Realms #2), “Not the Man I Married” (Black Petals #93), “Holes” (Graveyard Smash, Women of Horror Anthology, Vol. 2), and “Cactusland” (34 Orchard, forthcoming).
“I was always instructed to write about what I know,” she states, “and I know what scares me.” In her spare time, R.A. Busby watches cheesy Gothic movies and goes running in the desert with her dog.
She can be found on Twitter and at RABusbybooks.weebly.com
David-Christopher Harris
About the Author: David-Christopher Harris’ fantasy publications include “Olam Ha-Ba” in speculative fiction and poetry magazine Arsenika, “Last Call” in The Arcanist Magazine, “Falselight” on PageHabit, and “Children of Ozymandias” in 50WordStories, among others. He received his M.A. in Medieval Literature, which he uses exclusively to teach his cat Latin. He is currently querying.
He can be found on Twitter and at www.dcharriswriting.com
Andy Dibble
About the Author: Andy Dibble is a healthcare IT consultant who lives in Madison, Wisconsin. He has supported the electronic medical record of healthcare systems in six countries. His work appears or is forthcoming in Writers of the Future, Star*Line, Sci Phi Journal, and others. He is Articles Editor for Speculative North magazine.
He can be found on Twitter, Facebook, and andydibble.com.
LT Ward
About the Author: LT writes mostly speculative fiction shorts and novels while spending her days raising her children and satisfying her never-ending thirst for knowledge through reading, meeting people, and first-hand life experiences. She has short story publications with Dancing Lemur Press, Me First Magazine, Jazz House Press, and forthcoming with Black Hare Press and Cardigan Press. She currently volunteers with WriteHive, a nonprofit literary organization.
She can be found on Twitter, Instagram, and at ltwardwriter.com.
Ben Armstrong
About the Author: Ben is a young author who has been writing stories for over six years now. Recently he has been published in his town’s newspaper.
Maxwell I Gold
About the Author: Maxwell I. Gold is a Rhysling Award nominated prose poet, focusing on weird and cosmic fiction. He is a regular contributor to Spectral Realms, edited by Lovecraft scholar S.T. Joshi and his work has also appeared in Weirdbook Magazine, Space and Time Magazine, Startling Stories, Baffling Magazine, and many others.
His debut prose poetry collection, Oblivion in Flux: A Collection of Cyber Prose is forthcoming this August from Crystal Lake Publishing.
Maxwell can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, and at www.thewellsoftheweird.com
Damir Salkovic
About the Author: Damir Salkovic is the author of novels Kill Zone and Always Beside You. His shorter work has been featured in the Lovecraft eZine, Dimension6 Annual Collection 2020, and in multiple horror, science and speculative fiction anthologies.
Find him on Goodreads and at his blog, Darker Realities.
Lawrence West
About the Author: Lawrence J West has been on his writing journey since he was fourteen years old and has always been drawn to fantasy, sci-fi, and horror because of the way these genres allow for the exploration of human experience in unique ways. Since becoming a husband and father he has also found that his writing has a greater degree of empathy and insight.
Lawrence can be found on Twitter.
Sharon Frame Gay
About the Author: Sharon Frame Gay is an award winning author whose work has appeared in many anthologies and magazines, including Chicken Soup For The Soul, Typehouse, Fiction on the Web, Literally Stories, Lowestoft Chronicle, Thrice Fiction, Saddlebag Dispatches, Crannog, and others. She is a Pushcart Prize nominee.
A collection of her short stories, Song of the Highway, was released in August, 2020.
Sharon can be found on Twitter and Amazon.
Timothy Johnson
About the Author: Timothy Johnson is a writer and editor living outside of Washington, D.C. His published work includes the novels The Pillars of Dawn and Carrier as well as short fiction appearing in various professional and semi-professional markets. He is an MFA candidate in George Mason University’s creative writing program and an affiliate member of the HWA.
Find Timothy on Twitter and at timothyjohnsonfiction.com.
DL Shirey
About the Author: DL Shirey lives in Portland, Oregon, where it’s probably raining. Luckily, water is beer’s primary ingredient. His stories and non-fiction appear in 60 publications, including Confingo, Page & Spine, Zetetic and Wild Musette.
You can find more of DL Shirey on Twitter and at www.dlshirey.com.
Dan Eveloff
About the Author: Dan Eveloff is a lawyer and sports agent living in Chicago, Illinois with his dog, Reuben. He studied accounting at the University of Kansas, and subsequently earned his law degree from Northwestern University. His short fiction “The Price of Recompense” has appeared in AHF Magazine, “Shakespearean Justice” in Aphelion Webzine, and “Prevenge” can be found in Close to the Bone Magazine.
His social media presence can be found on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
Valerie Hunter
About the Author: Valerie Hunter teaches high school English and has an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her stories and poems have appeared in publications including Cicada, Storyteller, Edison Literary Review, Other Voices, Room, and Wizards in Space.
Find Valerie on Instagram.
Nicholas Barner
About the Author: Nicholas Barner has farmed, cooked, and written variously in Oakland, Chicago, Maine, and Los Angeles. He lives with his partner, Shelby, and their Dog, Nuni.
He can be found online at nicholasbarner.com.
Thomas Canfield
About the Author: Thomas Canfield lives in the mountains of North Carolina. His phobias run to politicians, lawyers and TV pitchmen. He is still trying to plumb the logic of the sales pitch; The more you buy, the more you save. It never quite seems to work out that way in the real world. Canfield occasionally reviews books on Goodreads.
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Blog Tour Schedule
July 26th
Reads & Reels (Spotlight) http://readsandreels.com
Sue’s Musings (Spotlight) https://suelbavey.wordpress.com/
I Smell Sheep (Review) http://www.ismellsheep.com/
July 27th
Breakeven Books (Spotlight) https://breakevenbooks.com
Nesie’s Place (Spotlight) https://nesiesplace.wordpress.com
Scarlett Readz & Runz (Spotlight) https://scarlettreadzandrunz.com/
Behind the Paged (Spotlight) https://www.behindthepages.org/
July 28th
Lecari’s Live Journal (Spotlight) http://www.lecari.co.uk
Auto.Erraticism (Spotlight) https://www.autoerraticism.com/
Cats Luv Coffee (Spotlight) https://catsluvcoffee.com
Stine Writing (Review) https://christinebialczak.com/
July 29th
Ashley Loves Books and Stuff (Spotlight) https://ilovebooksandstuffblog.wordpress.com
Rambling Mads (Spotlight) http://ramblingmads.com
@dreaminginpages (Review) https://www.instagram.com/dreaminginpages/
July 30th
Misty’s Book Space (Spotlight) http://mistysbookspace.wordpress.com
@mischiefmanaged_04 (Review) https://www.instagram.com/mischiefmanaged_04/
Liliyana Shadowlyn (Review) https://lshadowlynauthor.com/
Blog Tour Organized By:
Today's Author Spotlight is author April A. Taylor! Read on for the full interview. Publication date: August 3rd, 2021 Amazon | Goodre...
Author Spotlight || April A. Taylor, Author of Evil Eye
Today's Author Spotlight is author April A. Taylor!
Read on for the full interview.
Can you start out by telling us a little about your latest work? *
Evil Eye is a classic slasher with a modern twist.
Where did you get the inspiration to write this story?
When you developed the characters, did you already know who they were before you began writing or did they develop organically?
How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?
Do you read your book reviews? What do you consider "good" /"bad"?
What led you to start writing?
What attracted you to the genre(s) you write in?
What is one of your favorite words? OR Is there a word you find yourself using too often?
What are you currently reading?
What are a couple of your favorite movies to kick back with to relax?
Would you rather live in a haunted mansion or a cottage surrounded by fairytale creatures?
Are you on social media and can your readers interact with you? What are your links?
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aprilataylorwriter/
What advice would you like to pass on to aspiring writers that is unconventional but true?
Do you have a WIP? If so, can you tell us anything about it?
I do! Isnashi is a creature feature set in the Brazilian rainforest.
April A. Taylor is an award-winning, multi-genre author. Her latest novel, Evil Eye: A Slasher Story, introduces readers to characters they'll love to root for, along with two they can hate. Her previous horror books include Sinkhole and The Haunting of Cabin Green. April has also written the Alexa Bentley Paranormal Mysteries Series, the thriller Corvo Hollows, and the Midnight Myths and Fairy Tales Series. She's a proud member of the Horror Writers Association. Visit her online at aprilataylor.net.
April, thank you so much for being a guest on Cats Luv Coffee Book Reviews!
Publication date: February 25th, 2020 Links: Amazon | Goodreads The highwayman brought his hand up and ran his fingers through the bea...
Guest Post || M.J. Preston - How to make a Million Dollars in Writing
Publication date: February 25th, 2020
To my neighbors, I am a quiet and assuming guy who works blue-collar. What they don't know is that I also write dark speculative fiction. My work has been printed all over the world. I have four novels on the market and a fifth and sixth in production. My short fiction is available with numerous pubs, including magazines and anthologies.
Publication date: July 20th 2021 Links: Amazon | Goodreads Claire, gifted with the ability to see through time, predicts a horrific disas...
Feature Fiction || Fate Or Fiction by F.M. Mayhem
Publication date: July 20th 2021
Read now
Publication date: July 9th 2021 Links: Amazon | Goodreads A young couple's weekend foray into the woods turns into a night of unimagi...
Feature Fiction || The Barrens by Joe Goodglass
Publication date: July 9th 2021
Read now
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...
This Month in Horror: July 2021
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 awesome if you’d use the affiliate links. This helps to support the blog and doesn’t cost you a thing. Thanks!)
Transmuted (Rewind or Die #30) by Eve Harms
Publication date: July 15th, 2021
Her doctor is giving her the body of his dreams...and her nightmares. Isa is a micro-celebrity who rarely shows her face, and can’t wait to have it expertly ripped off and rearranged to look more feminine. When a successful fundraiser makes her gender affirming surgery possible, she’s overjoyed—until she has to give up all her money to save her dying father.
Crushed by gender dysphoria and the pressure of disappointing her fans who paid for a new face, she answers a sketchy ad seeking transgender women for a free, experimental feminization treatment. The grotesquely flawless Dr. Skurm has gruesome methods, but he gets unbelievable results, and Isa is finally feeling comfortable in her skin. She even gains the courage to ask out her crush: an alluring and disfigured alchemy-obsessed artist named Rayna.
But Isa’s body won’t stop changing, and she’s going from super model to super mutant. She has to discover the secret behind her metamorphosis—before the changes are irreversible, and she’s an unwanted freak forever.
TRANSMUTED is an outrageous and unapologetically queer body horror tale that will leave you gasping, giggling, and gagging for more. Experience the freaky thrills of TRANSMUTED today!
But Isa’s body won’t stop changing, and she’s going from super model to super mutant. She has to discover the secret behind her metamorphosis—before the changes are irreversible, and she’s an unwanted freak forever.
TRANSMUTED is an outrageous and unapologetically queer body horror tale that will leave you gasping, giggling, and gagging for more. Experience the freaky thrills of TRANSMUTED today!
Come With Me by Ronald Malfi
Publication date: June 20th, 2021
A masterful, heart-palpitating novel of small-town horror and psychological dread from a Bram Stoker nominee.
The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig
Publication date: July 20th, 2021
Links: Amazon | Goodreads
A family returns to their hometown—and to the dark past that haunts them still—in this masterpiece of literary horror by the New York Times bestselling author of Wanderers
Long ago, Nathan lived in a house in the country with his abusive father—and has never told his family what happened there.
Long ago, Maddie was a little girl making dolls in her bedroom when she saw something she shouldn’t have—and is trying to remember that lost trauma by making haunting sculptures.
Long ago, something sinister, something hungry, walked in the tunnels and the mountains and the coal mines of their hometown in rural Pennsylvania.
Now, Nate and Maddie Graves are married, and they have moved back to their hometown with their son, Oliver.
And now what happened long ago is happening again . . . and it is happening to Oliver. He meets a strange boy who becomes his best friend, a boy with secrets of his own and a taste for dark magic.
This dark magic puts them at the heart of a battle of good versus evil and a fight for the soul of the family—and perhaps for all of the world. But the Graves family has a secret weapon in this battle: their love for one another.
Small Favors by Erin A. Craig
Publication date: July 27th, 2021
Ellerie Downing lives in the quiet town of Amity Falls in the Blackspire Mountain range--five narrow peaks stretching into the sky like a grasping hand, bordered by a nearly impenetrable forest from which the early townsfolk fought off the devils in the woods. To this day, visitors are few and rare. But when a supply party goes missing, some worry that the monsters that once stalked the region have returned.
As fall turns to winter, more strange activities plague the town. They point to a tribe of devilish and mystical creatures who promise to fulfill the residents' deepest desires, however grand and impossible, for just a small favor. But their true intentions are much more sinister, and Ellerie finds herself in a race against time before all of Amity Falls, her family, and the boy she loves go up in flames.
The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
Publication date: July 13th, 2021
A fast-paced, thrilling horror novel that follows a group of heroines to die for, from the brilliant New York Times bestselling author of The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires.
In horror movies, the final girl is the one who's left standing when the credits roll. The one who fought back, defeated the killer, and avenged her friends. The one who emerges bloodied but victorious. But after the sirens fade and the audience moves on, what happens to her?
Lynnette Tarkington is a real-life final girl who survived a massacre twenty-two years ago, and it has defined every day of her life since. And she's not alone. For more than a decade she's been meeting with five other actual final girls and their therapist in a support group for those who survived the unthinkable, putting their lives back together, piece by piece. That is until one of the women misses a meeting and Lynnette's worst fears are realized--someone knows about the group and is determined to take their lives apart again, piece by piece.But the thing about these final girls is that they have each other now, and no matter how bad the odds, how dark the night, how sharp the knife, they will never, ever give up.
Inheriting Her Ghosts by S.H. Cooper
Publication date: July 9th, 2021
Inheritance often comes with strings attached, but rarely are they as tangled as those hanging over High Hearth.The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass
Publication date: July 13th, 2021
Links: Amazon | Goodreads
Get Out meets Danielle Vega in this YA horror where survival is not a guarantee.
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