Thursday 5 September 2024
THE RACK: Stories Inspired by Vintage Horror Paperbacks, edited by Tom Deady
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this awesome and packed anthology. I have to admit that I took my time with it, savouring a handful of stories a night.
Here's what I thought of each story:
BLACK PAGES by Cynthia Pelayo: Great story and I really liked the ending.
OTHER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED by Ronald Malfi: This little odd and awesome tale delivered in many ways.
FUZZY SLIPPERS by Jeff Strand: As much fun as it was ridiculous. Poor Grandma.
THE RAFT by Stephen King: Always cool to read a King story.
THAT CHEMICAL GLOW by Larry Hinkle: I enjoyed this creepy little tale.
I AM A HOUSE DEMANDING TO BE HAUNTED by Mercedes M. Yardley: Whimsical. Grotesque. Macabre. Beautiful.
URSA DIRUO by Kristin Dearborn: Really intriguing small-time horror tale with an unexpected and cool ending.
A DEVIL WE USED TO KNOW by Johnny Compton: I found this one a little hard to get into.
IRISH EYES by Bridget Nelson: A total fever dream and a hell of a freaky ride.
THEY LOOK BACK by Candace Nola: Yikes! Didn't expect the twist in this one, but when it hits... creepy.
BLOOD OF MY BLOOD by Christa Carmen: A fun wedding story featuring a very different spin on vampires.
THE KEEPER OF TASWOMET by Errick Nunnally: I REALLY enjoyed this one. The main character really carried this creature feature.
THE LAST CALL OF THE CICADA by Gwendolyn Kiste: A whimsical and lovely, horrific tale about a small town. And cicadas. So many cicadas.
MIGHTIER THAN BULLETS by Laurel Hightower: This story takes the awful real-life horror of school shootings and gives it an unbelievable twist. SO freaking GOOD.
LOUD AND CLEAR by Max Booth III: Interesting tale.
BETTER BY YOU, BETTER THAN ME by Rebecca Rowland: What a fever dream this one turned out to be!
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM LANE by Richard Chizmar: Hooked from start to finish!
THE VISITOR by Philip Fracassi: So creepy. Another one I enjoyed immensely.
LIPS LIKE A SCYTHE by Steve Van Samson: Not bad.
WHITE PAGES by Clay McLeod Chapman: Very nostalgic.
As I said above, this book is jam-packed full of nostalgic, fun and super creepy stories that I enjoyed. A lot. And there are quite a few that will stay with me for a long time.
I want to thank Erin Al-Mehairi for sending me a copy.
View all my reviews
Wednesday 4 September 2024
Cover Reveal!
Thursday 29 August 2024
August Update!
Monday 5 August 2024
Check it out!
Wednesday 24 July 2024
Popping in to say...
OMGosh, I just realised that it's been quite a while since I last posted something that wasn't a book review.
So, here I am! ☺️
How are you? How's July treating you? What's new? Anything exciting happening in your life at the moment?
I have to admit that in some ways, this month hasn't been the best. Well, some things have been great because spending time with my husband, and going on suburban adventures with him, is always fun and exciting. Not to mention that July is my birthday month. And we got a new fancy washing machine!
We've also been watching The Boys (great finale), Evil, and discovered some 90s episodes of Columbo on Prime! Which are totally addictive. 😅🔍
Winter has hit really hard, which I don't like. I can't wait for the longer days to come back...
Between the stress of routine health checks and what happened online, I've been dealing with a lot of stuff.
Anyway, I don't want to get into the nitty-gritty details because if you're on social media you probably already know what happened, but a bunch of my books are no longer published/coming soon. If you've taken a look around my website you probably already noticed.
And I'm once again really sorry if you pre-ordered Wings of Sorrow because it wasn't released as previously scheduled.
Yep. I now have a bunch of homeless horror stories, but that's okay. I think my hard drive is the best place for them at the moment.
Although it's taken me weeks to clear my head enough to really deal with what happened, I'm finally ready to think about what to do next. I have to admit that the experience has been hard on my mental health, has left me with some trust issues, and a lot of disappointment. It's funny (weird, not haha) how situations like this can bring out the worst or best in people. And I've taken note because I don't forget gaslighting or being tossed aside for no reason. 🫤
But I'm not here to dwell on any of the uncomfortable things I've gone through lately because the routine tests came back good, and I had a great meeting with my Film/TV agent the other day.
I just want to move on from all the other stuff. It's time to think about the future.
Well, that's it. Just thought I'd pop in and say a few things about how the last two turbulent months have affected me. And I also want to say that I'll keep you posted on what's next for my stories.
Watch this space. ☺️
Thanks for reading and have an awesome day!