HAUNTED ATTRACTION REVIEW: Castle Blood


Autumn/Halloween is my favorite season and time of the year. Of course, a large reason for this is the fall festivals and haunted attractions that open up for business now. When I was in college, I used to go with friends to every haunted attraction in the area we could possibly get to. Nowadays with pesky things called 'adult responsibilities,' I consider getting to at least two attractions a good Halloween (if I can do three it's a bonus).

Those of you who have been following my writing and blogging in recent years have likely seen me mention Castle Blood on more than one occasion as it is on my 'must go to' list during the Halloween season. Last night (Saturday night), some friends and I visited their brand new location, which is none other than a 100-year-old three generation funeral home.

Here is my video interview with the owner, Rick (aka Gravely MacCabre) from back in September. Here, we discuss what's in store for the attraction's new home:



So very quickly, what is Castle Blood, you ask?  Well, it is an award-winning attraction in Monessan, PA that is in its 21st year running. It is a live action, interactive tour with a different built in story every year. In fact, here is the description from their website, CastleBlood.com :

"We have an interactive storyline, and a game or challenge to send our patrons on each year.
The story changes from year to year, however it always remains true to our basic legend and the characters of the castle. You will take your time going through with your guide. So you’ll see everything. And everything will see you.
Depending on the Creatures you encounter, and what ‘denizens’ are in the Castle, your tour can even change from night to night." 

Instead of chainsaw wielding guys in masks, you are more likely to encounter the more classic, gothic creature such as a ghost, vampire, werewolf, and maybe a zombie or two. Fans of the classic Universal horror pictures, Hammer films, or the original Dark Shadows will very likely dig it. :)

I don't want to give away too much of the new location as it truly is an experience to be had. But I will say that the rather large old funeral home offers the cast and crew much more possibilities. Never seen before rooms and special effects have been added and according to one of the cast members, there is still more to come (which I look forward to seeing next year)! The crew did an excellent job with putting it all together in the short time they had and I look forward to seeing where it will all go. Yes, the old funeral home is certainly a great fit for them.

There is still time to get out to Castle Blood this Halloween but if for any reason you do not make it, check out their other seasonal events, including their Spooky Cryptmas (Christmas), Bloody Valentine's Day, and Midsummer Nightmare!
They also have an awesome gift shop complete with Midnight Syndicate CDs, whose music they license to enhance the already spooky atmosphere. :)



Official Site:
Castle Blood

My Castle Blood Articles on Ravenous Monster Webzine:
 Castle Blood: A Different Kind of Scare
Castle Blood: Halloween the Way It Ought to Be...Inside A 100-Year-Old Funeral Home

Highlighted Footage from an Interview with Rick (aka Gravely MacCabre):









October is not only Halloween, but also my birthday month! I'm also going to be releasing my first full length novel, Descent (The Birthrite Series, #1) and The Twisting House (Stories from Colony Drive, #4) very soon.
So in celebration of all that, I'm offering the three stories available in the Stories from Colony Drive Series for free on Smashwords. You can already download #1 (Cemetery by the Lake) and #3 (Romancing Elena) free, and until November 5, Dusk to Dawn (Story #2) is also free with a coupon code.

So on the Smashwords Dusk to Dawn page, enter the following coupon code at checkout:
RY63B

And then download The Cemetery by the Lake and Romancing Elena for free. :)

Then if you don't mind, rate and review on Smashwords and Goodreads , whether you loved them, sort of liked them or they weren't your thing.

Thanks everyone and Happy Halloween! :)

PS- Smashwords offers formats for pretty much any computer or e-reader. :)

Interview with Michael Wade Johnson of Faux Pas Films



My relationship with Faux Pas Films started back in 2012 when I was approached by Michael Wade Johnson to do a cameo in their dark drama,  Cyclical Effect. They also ended up using my song, "Ghost" in the film. The next project of theirs that I was involved with was 2013's Ovulation in which my song, "Ashes to Dust" was used. Since then, they have kept busy and are currently filming their latest project, Candie's Harem. So read on! :)

TA: So, what have you all been up to since the last time we talked?

MWJ: Films, films, and more films! After finishing "Ovulation", I wrote and directed "Incorporeal" and then a little short called "Attritional" while at the same time helping with tons of other projects like "The Dirty Sanchez". That and raising my soon-to-be 1 year old daughter, Adora, who is my brightest light imaginable.



TA: Now, you completed a new film titled "Candie's Harem." Can you give us a little synopsis (without giving it completely away, of course)?

MWJ: Well, actually we are in pre-production for the film right now and starting production in the upcoming weeks. We recently started an Indiegogo campaign (http://igg.me/at/candiesharem) to help with additional funds for the film. The film is massive and impossible to make on my usual no budget formula. I'm digressing though. The film is a whodunit horror murder mystery set in a more erotic kind of theme. I grew up on the old "everyone's a red herring" kind of films and thus I wanted to incorporate my own version. It's about Candie, a beautiful bisexual who has a string of lovers and none of them are aware of the others. She thinks she has the perfect set up until her lovers start dying off one by one. Who is murdering Candie's Harem? Find out.



TA: It looks pretty interesting, from what I've seen. Where did the idea for the plotline come from?

MWJ: Well, I wrote the screenplay way back in 2007. Basically I wanted to write a story that keeps you guessing while at the same time being edgy and provocative. It has horror, it has drama, it has the blood and the boobs, but it also has a lot of philosophy and cerebral moments and takes you on an emotional journey with a definite character arc.

TA: What type of audience would you recommend it for?

MWJ: Old school horror fans and adults who enjoy the slasher/murder mysteries. It does have a strong sexual theme with nudity and adult language, so anyone who likes the dark, hard R rated horror films.

TA: Any interesting behind the scenes stories you would like to share with our lovely readers?

MWJ: Nothing yet but I'm sure we'll have plenty by the time we wrap production. The scenarios in the film are sure to make the laughter ensue BTS.



TA: When can we expect it out as far as a premiere of a release goes?

MWJ: Everything should be complete by April 2015. Then we'll see where it goes. Most likely a festival run and then a DVD release.

TA: Finally, what's next for you guys?

MWJ: Pretty busy stuff as always. Up next will be a Horror/Comedy/Musical called "The Non Gratas", then I have an untitled Anthology in the works, and after that, we'll be making a remake of my first film "Brimstone" just in time for it's 10th year anniversary. Never a dull moment in the indie film scene!



 Definitely never a dull moment! :) So check out Faux Pas Films and Candie's Harem on Facebook:

And check out their Indiegogo Campaign

And last but not least, just say no to censorship. :)




ONE LAST SIDE NOTE:  I am offering all three short stories in the Stories from Colony Drive series for free until November 5 on Smashwords (which offers a format for pretty much any type of pc or e-reader). You can already download The Cemetery by the Lake (Story #1) and Romancing Elena (Story # 3) free. In order to get Dusk to Dawn (Story #2) as a free download throughout this month, visit the story's page and enter the following coupon code at checkout:
RY63B

And after you've read them, feel free to leave a review at Smashwords and/or on Goodreads, whether you loved them, sort of liked them, or they weren't your thing. :)
Thanks all!



If you would like to join our community and receive content exclusive to email, join our little tribe and Subscribe to my Messages from the Labyrinth Mailing List.. We promise to never share your info or spam you. Ever.

You can also subscribe to my YouTube Channel for new vlogging updates.


******

My stories, "The Cemetery by the Lake" and "Dusk to Dawn" are available at Smashwords and Barnes & Noble NOOK. More retailers will follow, but Smashwords is pretty compatible with most e-reader and PC formats.
and Amazon
"The Cemetery by the Lake" at Smashwords and Barnes & Noble NOOK
"Dusk to Dawn" at Smashwords
Tiffany on Goodreads
My music is also available at CDBaby
Support great authors and independent bookstores at Smashwords and Indiebound



BOOK REVIEW: David C. Smith's DARK MUSE

Another book I recommend for the Halloween season. This is a review I posted on Goodreads and another blogsite about a year ago, but it still holds water. :)





I love discovering new authors. It's almost like when you're a kid at Christmas time and you unwrap a present you didn't necessarily know you wanted but are thrilled you received it. I discovered David C. Smith through friend and owner of Rickert and Beagle Books (in Dormont, PA), Chris Rickert. She invited me to a reading of one of his newer books, Dark Muse. Unfortunately, thanks to a dying car at the time, I wasn't able to make it, but I was interested enough in checking the book out. So I later purchased it from her store and began reading it almost immediately only to be left in shock when all was finished. And I will explain why I do mean that as a good thing.

Dark Muse begins with your typical "everyman", Jack Mathis. He has a decent job as a book editor, a beautiful fiancee (who is also pregnant with their child), and is on his way to carving his niche in life. When he begins to receive genius, yet horrifying, manuscripts at his office, he believes he has hit the jackpot that will make his publishing company a giant moneymaker and many of his co-workers agree. Jack goes out of his way to try and meet with the elusive writer of the stories and little does he know that he will end up with much more than he bargained for. He will also find out that the writer knows much more about Jack and his family than the writer should...

Dark Muse is a page turner. Plain and simple. I would categorize it as being a psychological thriller with some pretty horrifying scenes. Smith's writing is brilliant in the way he handles writing his characters to a point where they do seem like real people and there were times when I did put the book down to make sure all the doors to my place were locked. I very much recommend checking Dark Muse out. It isn't a gorefest by any means, but the storytelling is gripping and the ending did leave me sitting on my couch and staring ahead at the wall for a good few minutes before I was able to bring myself to move again.

I would like to thank Chris of Rickert and Beagle Books for my introduction to David C. Smith. I will be reading more from him in the future.

Dark Muse on Goodreads
Dark Muse on Amazon
Dark Muse at Damnation Books
Rickert & Beagle Books










Music for the Halloween Season: Clan of Xymox



 So in addition to all the horror/sci-fi/fantasy films out there, what else can help enhance the Halloween season? Music, of course. And one of my favorite albums to listen to at this time of year is the 1985 album from the goth/darkwave/synthpop band, Clan of Xymox (also simply known as Xymox).  There is just something about this album that makes driving through a fall evening with the semi-barren trees and the moon in the night sky with it playing on the car stereo (yes, I'm old-school; vinyl, CDs, etc.) that just really sets a mood. Even driving with it on a cloudy, autumn day sets a real tone for the season.
The album has a dark, nostalgic, other-worldly feel to it. My three favorite songs on the album are "7th Time", "Stranger," and "No Human Can Drown."

You can pick up the album and listen to samples at Amazon (but if you can locate it at your local indpendent music store, even better!):

Clan of Xymox on Amazon

Clan of Xymox Website


SAMPLES OF MY FAVORITES:





Night Terrors Series: Guest Post by William Max Miller

A guest post by my good friend, William Max Miller, telling the story of a night terror he experienced years ago. Enjoy! And dream well...

I found myself surrounded by shadows and darkness, laying flat on my back on an altar-like stone slab. A horrible, heavy lethargy paralyzed my limbs and, as I tried desperately to move, I felt that I must have been given a dose of curare.
I could hear the loud, pounding sound of my racing heart echo like rhythmic thunder through my drugged body, and a dull roaring filled my ears as I struggled hopelessly to open lead-encased eyelids. My breathing came in gasps as I fought to force air into my frozen lungs. It seemed like I was sinking in quicksand, or that I was slowly suffocating in a choking cloud of lethal cyanide vapors. An overwhelming sense of menace oppressed me, and I realized in horror that a faceless, black robed figure was approaching. The sinister shape, like a figure from beyond the grave, floated silently toward me and bent over my struggling body, its claw-like hands reaching out with malevolent intent.
I realized that I was on an embalming table, and that the black figure was about to drain my blood and fill my veins with formaldehyde! I fought to awaken. By now a dim realization that I was still half-asleep had formed in my frantic mind, and I knew that waking up was my only means of escape. Summoning a last, desperate surge of strength, I forced my eyes completely open and jumped to my feet, my arms flailing outward to push the black figure away.

 Picture by Stephen Gammell of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark Trilogy

    Now standing and completely awake, I began to see the shapes of familiar objects take form and substance in the shadowy half-light of my bedroom. Drenched with sweat, my heart still pounding with fear, I walked to the kitchen, turned the light on, and poured a glass of water with shaking hands. I was still convinced at that moment that I'd had a dreadfully real encounter with an evil, supernatural force, one which had attempted to drag me back with it into some nightmare dimension of ultimate darkness.
    The sense of having just had a narrow escape lingered for about half an hour, and it exerted a disarming power over my imagination that required several cigarettes to dispel.  The unsettling conviction finally faded into the realization that I had lived through a not-uncommon nocturnal adventure of a kind recorded in the annals of every culture throughout history. I had experienced a dreaded Night Terror.
    A Night Terror differs from a nightmare because it doesn't happen when a person is completely asleep. It seems to be a type of parasomnia, or sleep disorder, which afflicts the waking-up process. Many people who experience them on a regular basis describe a titanic struggle to awaken, as though the ability to make the shift from sleeping to wakefulness has become temporarily impaired. Night Terrors, with all their sinister shapes and appalling sensations, inhabit that strange, largely unexplored borderland between daylight and dreams; that peculiar region we all cross through twice each night, once as we fall asleep, and then once again as we awake. They are transitional phenomena, and this probably explains the terrifying sense of reality with which they are accompanied. Since a person having a Night Terror is somewhat awake, he mingles actual sensations and perceptions with subjective stimuli. These form an unholy alliance in the imagination and, like an intoxicating witch's brew, cast a disturbing aura of realism over the experience.
    Medical professionals who specialize in the treatment of sleep disorders note the recurring similarities in people's accounts of Night Terrors. Almost all of them report feelings of paralysis, increased heart rate, difficulty breathing, and an overwhelming sense of great danger accompanied by a horrible inability to escape. Frequently mentioned is the feeling of being under attack, and written records of Night Terrors bristle with frightened descriptions of wraith-like malevolent figures circling in for the kill, similar to the Black Shape which hovered over my immobilized body and reached toward my throat with its claws...Individuals who suffer from Night Terrors, sometimes frequently enough to require professional help for the problem, also concur that the unpleasant after-effects of these uncanny experiences often linger for hours. Some people describe an oppressive malaise and sense of foreboding which saps their vitality for days after the Night Terror invaded their bedrooms and troubled their sleep.
    The world-wide distribution of the Night Terror experience, and its occurrence at every period of human history, probably lies at the dark center of the ancient belief in vampires. The Night Terror frequently behaves like the vampire of folkloric tradition. It comes uninvited in the night to prey upon the sleeper, and leaves him shaken, weakened, mysteriously drained. The worn-out feeling which oppresses the morning after such a nocturnal fright can be easily explained as the body's normal reaction to a little sleep deprivation, but it also coincides with the legend of the vampire, who leaves its victims in an exhausted condition after draining them of their blood. And the fact that Night Terrors often involve visions of menacing figures, black shadowy shapes, and other entities which look like the traditional vampire certainly hints that these experiences  could be the primal inspiration for strange tales about bloodsuckers and the Legions of the Undead. Dracula, Nosferatu, Lestat, and all the rest of the great Vampire Horde, which swarms through films, plays, novels and nightmares like a cloud of bats, are probably literary echoes of the Night Terror phenomenon.
    My Night Terror occurred sometime in the spring of 1975, during one of the most optimistic and anxiety-free periods of my life. Theories that categorize Night Terrors as anxiety responses to stressful life events fail to explain what happened to me. However, my friend Bill,  a serious student of the occult, was convinced that I had actually been attacked by an "astral vampire." All this happened in the mid-seventies, a time still very much in the grip of a social trend originally referred to in Time Magazine as "the Occult Explosion." Books about witchcraft, black magic, Satanic cults, and the supernatural became popular best-sellers throughout this cultural phase, and films focusing on various aspects of the occult appeared almost daily on TV and at cinemas. Most of the young adults I knew were interested in the supernatural, and dabbled in Tarot card reading, amateur spell-casting, astrology, and Wiccan practices. Bill did more than dabble. He was a practicing Ritual Magician, who could quote whole passages of Aleister Crowley and Eliphas Levi forwards and backwards. (He had to pronounce them backwards sometimes, he explained, because the particular ritual he was performing might necessitate a reversal of certain words of power.) Although I remained skeptical of his astral vampire theory, some of my acquaintances took the matter quite seriously, and began giving me  silver crucifixes and cloves of garlic as gifts to help me ward off any possible future attacks. All these social reinforcers combined with the vivid sense of reality which had accompanied the experience, and I found myself thinking more and more about astral vampires from Beyond...
    The concept of the astral vampire with which my friends familiarized themselves derived mostly from the works of the 19'th century occultist Madame Blavatsky. Dion Fortune, who further popularized the notion in her well-known work, Psychic Self Defense, wrote advice concerning how to protect oneself from such evil creatures. An astral vampire is a being who takes over the dead immaterial shell left behind by a spiritual entity when it moves on to a still higher plane of existence. As a kind of ghost's ghost, so the theory goes, the possessor of the dead astral shell descends to earth, where it feeds upon the vital spiritual energies of flesh-and-blood mortals. Unlike the vampire of folklore, such a monster does not need to drink the actual blood of its prey. All it needs is a psychic energy fix, and it obtains this when it attacks a sleeping human. According to Dion Fortune, symptoms of such astral attacks are allegedly serious, and prolonged victimization by such a monster can lead to depression, madness, and suicide. Astral vampires are like the bandits and highwaymen of the Astral Plane, and one does not eliminate them by pounding a steak through their hearts. Instead, a person must use magic to guard against the astral vampire.
    Due to several other strange occurrences which had taken place in my old home over the past half century (more about these will soon appear on this page) Bill became convinced that an astral vampire was afoot and that it had singled me out as an energy source on the night of my Night Terror. He offered to perform a ritual which would permanently banish the foul night gaunt from my residence, and I eventually gave him permission to throw his magical gauntlet in the face of the vampire. Bill picked a time in conjunction with the phases of the moon and planets, and brought his magical implements to the house. By candle light, amidst clouds of fuming incense, he intoned the words of power inscribed in his ancient Grimoires. He scattered special herbs throughout the rooms, and performed strange gestures and movements. The ritual itself took about an hour, and left the whole house filled with the churchly scent of Frankincense for days.
    I never experienced another Night Terror. Of course, that's probably because I simply wasn't destined to suffer from  this particular kind of sleep disorder, and has nothing to do with successfully exorcised vampires, astral or Transylvanian. Sleep researchers who study Night Terrors point to chemical imbalances, anxiety reactions, and seizure-like disturbances of deep, non-REM sleep as their actual, physical causes. Their scientific explanations sound very reassuring. But the vivid sense of reality induced by my Night Terror occasionally makes me question such bland theories. Even professional sleep researchers admit that the borderland separating our daylight world from the land of dreams is a dimly understood territory at best, where very old traditions say many strange encounters take place, not all of a pleasant nature. All non-technological cultures, whose shamans and Holy Men have explored the world of dreams  for millennia,  possess ancient oral traditions in which sleep is seen as a process of leaving the body and entering other dimensions, and dreams are viewed as actual encounters with the denizens of different realities. We all must come to the mysterious threshold of sleep each night. For all humans, a regular passage through this gateway is unavoidable because sleeping, like eating and drinking, is a daily necessity upon which our lives depend. And, by a hard law of nature, such necessities become points of great vulnerability. As observant naturalists well know, hungry predators always lurk near bodies of water, to feed upon the unsuspecting creatures who must come there to drink....

    You can learn more about Night Terrors by clicking the following links:
Night Terrors and Nightmares

More can also be found at his essay webpage



If you would like to join our community and receive content exclusive to email, join our little tribe and Subscribe to my Messages from the Labyrinth Mailing List.. We promise to never share your info or spam you. Ever.

You can also subscribe to my YouTube Channel for new vlogging updates.


******

My stories, "The Cemetery by the Lake" and "Dusk to Dawn" are available at Smashwords and Barnes & Noble NOOK. More retailers will follow, but Smashwords is pretty compatible with most e-reader and PC formats.
and Amazon
"The Cemetery by the Lake" at Smashwords and Barnes & Noble NOOK
"Dusk to Dawn" at Smashwords
Tiffany on Goodreads
My music is also available at CDBaby
Support great authors and independent bookstores at Smashwords and Indiebound

Midnight Syndicate's "Carnival Arcane"

As I stated in a previous review: I love carnivals.  I love amusement parks.  I love stories and movies that involve them.  It's one of those things that you can't quite place, but they all seem to have a sense of nostalgia and mystery about them.  I also love Midnight Syndicate and have been a longtime fan.  Yes, I was the "goth kid" who sat up til all hours of the night reading the likes of Bram Stoker, Stephen King, and Anne Rice as Midnight Syndicate played in the background.  So you can only imagine my excitement when I met Ed Douglas at the Indie Gathering Film Festival a couple years ago where we were both guests. I also witnessed him being inducted into the Independent Filmmaker's Hall of Fame at the Horror Hotel Film Festival and Convention in 2012.  It was also there I ended up snagging a copy of "Carnival Arcane."  Midnight Syndicate doing an album of dark, creepy, carnival music?  Hell yeah, I was there.





First a little background on Midnight Syndicate.  I will begin by saying that even if you haven't heard of them, you've very likely heard their work, especially if you've gone to amusement parks or Halloween attractions.  Many of those attractions (from the smaller local or traveling parks to the likes of Universal Studios) have licensed Midnight Syndicate, particularly during the Halloween season (in fact, I've actually gotten a couple of their albums at such places and events).  You also may have seen their albums displayed in Halloween costume stores.
Midnight Syndicate is made up of composers, Ed Douglas and Gavin Goszka who have been producing their dark, symphonic soundscapes for nearly two decades while also providing services to filmmakers, theme parks, and have been considered by many (myself included) to be among the pioneers in the Gothic music realm.
Now bear in mind, before you start groaning, "Soundscapes? Really?" I will tell you that this is by no means the monotone-put-you-to-sleep soundscapes (in fact, I'm not sure you would want to sleep much after listening to a Midnight Syndicate album).  Douglas and Goszka brilliantly craft beautiful, orchestral horror-themed music along with old movie effects to create their very diverse and intricately produced albums.  "Carnival Arcane" is no exception and with each album, they seem to evolve from the last one.

As someone who has been listening to Midnight Syndicate for years, I will say that I was blown away by "Carnival Arcane."  The music is quite reminiscent of the traveling carnivals of yore and the album art is also a reflection of such eras. Douglas and Goszka do not disappoint when it comes to producing music that allow the listener's mind to wander to another realm with their symphonic melodies.
My favorite track is "Canvas Wonderland" and I actually had it on repeat as I wrote a chapter in Descent (The Birthrite Series #1).
If you haven't picked up "Carnival Arcane" or are new to Midnight Syndicate, I highly recommend checking them out this Halloween.  You can purchase their albums and merchandise at their Official Website's Music Store.
Of course, they are available at most retailers, including digital (iTunes), but if you can buy directly from the artist, why not do it? :)  But however you choose to check out and listen to their music, I hope you enjoy it as much as I and many others have.

Midnight Syndicate Official Website

Official Midnight Syndicate Webstore 




REVIEW SUNDAY: Sara Brooke's THE MAD MONKEY KING


The fair is typically full of fun, exciting rides.
But you've never ridden anything like this.
It sits in silence and waits - its red eyes glowing in the darkness. It waits to offer riders the chance for redemption or a fate worse than death.
The Mad Monkey King is ready to take Gary Moore on a journey. He doesn't realize that he's about to enter a realm that defies everything that's real and logical.
Because once he enters the darkness, he may never find his way out.
The Mad Monkey King is a short story filled with horror, suspense and adventure.


I love carnivals and amusement parks, especially old ones that have a history (I pretty much love anything old with a history). I love stories and films based around them, from Tod Browning's 1932 film, Freaks to the 1962 film Carnival of Souls to 1981's Fun House to 2006's Dark Ride, there is something about setting a dark fiction story at a carnival. Even one of my favorite music acts, Midnight Syndicate released an album title "Carnival Arcane", based on the music and mystery surrounding the old, traveling fairs of yesteryear. So when Sara Brooke announced that her newest story would be taking place one, I was of course looking forward to reading it.
I love Sara Brooke's stories. Some I like more than others, but I always look forward to her putting out a new work. The Mad Monkey King is a short story, therefore reading it is not a huge commitment. Also because it is a short story, I don't want to say too much about it without giving it away, but I will say that as it typically is with this author's stories, you never really know what's coming up (kind of like a dark ride, huh?). Just when you think you know what's coming, you are steered in a completely different direction.
The story is told in first person (by the main character, Gary Moore), thus giving the reader a chance to really experience what the character is going through and his emotional journey. The author does a good job of painting the characters, from the main character to the more secondary ones.
For a while, The Kransen House was my favorite Sara Brooke story, but I think The Mad Monkey King has taken its place...or at least tied with it.

Check out The Mad Monkey King at Amazon and Smashwords:

The Mad Monkey King on Smashwords


While you're at it, check out The Kransen House as well:


The Kransen House on Smashwords


The History of Women in Comics

An interesting look at women in comic strips and books (the artists as well as the characters) throughout history. The first known female cartoonist in America was producing and selling in her work during the turn of the 20th century.

I thought this might be interesting since a good portion of Descent takes place during the 1930s, right on the cusp of the Roaring 20s and the Depression, and this article covers a nice portion of that era.

Women in Comics: The Platinum and the Golden Ages



If you would like to join our community and receive content exclusive to email, join our little tribe and Subscribe to my Messages from the Labyrinth Mailing List.. We promise to never share your info or spam you. Ever.

You can also subscribe to my YouTube Channel for new vlogging updates.


******

My stories, "The Cemetery by the Lake" and "Dusk to Dawn" are available at Smashwords and Barnes & Noble NOOK. More retailers will follow, but Smashwords is pretty compatible with most e-reader and PC formats.
and Amazon
"The Cemetery by the Lake" at Smashwords and Barnes & Noble NOOK
"Dusk to Dawn" at Smashwords
Tiffany on Goodreads
My music is also available at CDBaby
Support great authors and independent bookstores at Smashwords and Indiebound

REVIEW SUNDAY: Kimberly Bennett's TWISTED DELIGHTS: A THRILLING SHORT STORY ANTHOLOGY




Twisted Delights: A Thrilling Short Story Anthology is a strange collection of ten short stories which include a homicidal hairdresser, a doomed werewolf love tale & an unforgettable meeting with the devil.

I met Kimberly Bennett at a couple events held at local bookstores and finally got a chance to pick up two of her books (both anthologies), putting both on my Summer Reading List. Recently, I finished Twisted Delights. It's a pretty short read at only 102 pages long and - as the description says - includes ten short stories.
The premises for all the stories are very interesting and solid, and my two favorites, Aisling and Medusa Virus involve two well-known beings from mythology and are complete enough, yet leave things open for the reader. Not all the stories end happily, and you know what? I like it that way. Because sometimes in life, you don't always get what you want and events are seldom tied up neatly in packages. Though in a couple of the stories, I would have liked more of an explanation. For instance, I loved Nightmare. It was one of those stories that had me turning the pages and wondering what was going to happen next. Overall, I was satisfied with the ending, though would have liked maybe just a small hint at why the events were happening to the protagonist and her grandmother. Until Forever is also a good, though tragic tale and Gabriel is cool little story with a nice twist (pun not intended...sort of). There were also a couple stories that didn't quite do it for me, but I think that had more to do with my personal taste.
Overall, I did enjoy Twisted Delights and do recommend it for those looking for short read to settle in with for the evening.

You can check out Twisted Delights on Amazon, Smashwords, and Barnes & Noble.


Twisted Delights on Smashwords

Twisted Delights at Barnes & Noble

If you would like to join our community and receive content exclusive to email, join our little tribe and Subscribe to my Messages from the Labyrinth Mailing List.. We promise to never share your info or spam you. Ever.

You can also subscribe to my YouTube Channel for new vlogging updates.


******

My stories, "The Cemetery by the Lake" and "Dusk to Dawn" are available at Smashwords and Barnes & Noble NOOK. More retailers will follow, but Smashwords is pretty compatible with most e-reader and PC formats.
and Amazon
"The Cemetery by the Lake" at Smashwords and Barnes & Noble NOOK
"Dusk to Dawn" at Smashwords
Tiffany on Goodreads
My music is also available at CDBaby
Support great authors and independent bookstores at Smashwords and Indiebound


Accuracy in Historical Fiction: Is 100% Possible?

Hey all,

Sorry for the delays in posts over the passed couple weeks. Things got crazy with filming and trying to finally release Descent. Since it's getting close to when Descent (The Birthrite Series, #1) will be ready for release, I wanted to do a post on the historical fiction genre. While The Birthrite Series isn't exactly Historical Fiction as the genre is defined, there is much of it that does take place throughout some major events in history, like Roma Slavery the Great Depression.

Before I begin, here are some cool and informative links on the subject from the points of view of other writers/authors. Both of which stress authenticity over accuracy.

Stretching the Facts to Historical Fiction

How to Write Historical Fiction: 7 Tips on Accuracy and Authenticity 

So, as I stated in posts before, The Birthrite Series took me nearly four years to compile. After a lot of research and experimenting with different characters and scenarios, the story went from only being one book to five with a couple spin off novellettes/shorts. And it was about three years before I was happy with something I could even call a first draft. Part of this was due to the amount of research I did as I compiled that first draft. Once I had a direction (when I came up with the beginning concept of the four bloodline patriarchs: Nicolae, Jonathan, James, and Hector), a lot of historical research went into their four stories and I made myself crazy striving for accuracy. Not that this is a bad thing, but I also read reviews on various books in historical fiction and books of other genres that took place at certain times in history as my series does. And let me tell you...damn some people can be brutal at the slightest factual error! And sometimes not even that.

I will use one of my favorite movies as an example. Here is the trailer for the movie "Ever After" starring Drew Barrymore (and both songs featured in the trailer are also on the playlist for The Birthrite Series: "The Mummers Dance" by Loreena McKennitt and "Fable" by Robert Miles).


A couple weeks ago, I was looking at some comments regarding the film, and one person commented on how the values shown in the film were "too modern for its' time."  Now granted, this person did not elaborate beyond that, so I can't really say what parts of the film the person actually meant. However, my rebuttal for that is "Ever After" is a take on the Cinderella story. The "Cinderella" character, Danielle (Drew Barrymore) is a forward thinking woman living in Renaissance-era France. In fact, one of the main points of the story is that Danielle IS a forward thinking young woman, thanks to her father who encouraged her to read and grow intellectually before he passed away. This is what sets her apart. Also, wasn't the Renaissance era also the start of the so-called  "Enlightening"? Meaning many were embracing new ideals not considered acceptable during the Medieval era and altering their ways of thinking a little. So why should some of the values presented be THAT far-fetched? Is it because the characters didn't adhere to the rules still being pushed by the powers that be of that time?
It seems to be a trend in stories set in historical times that if the characters don't "follow all the rules" and express some form of rebellion, than you get the "WHAT??? They NEVER would have done that! This author/writer needs to do their research!" comments.
I've come to accept that there will always be purists, and no matter how much research is done, they will always find something to nitpick about. While I've come to accept it as being 'the nature of the beast,' some of this did cause me a lot of self doubt as I wrote Descent.

Here's the thing I've come to find about history (as well as the writers in the articles I linked to at the beginning of this post). Much of it is bias. Yes, there is truth in bias, but the recounting of that truth depends on who you are talking to or reading about. Not all the facts are there, and sometimes you do need to "fill in the blanks" with your own educated guesses (which will be different from the educated guesses of others). This is where the 'authenticity over accuracy' comes into play. Tone is important while writing about other eras as is language. And yes, language can be a BEAST and I found this out quickly while writing Descent.
In Descent, we begin in the mid 1800s with Nicolae Ganoush, Jonathan Blake, James Livingston, and Hector de Fuentes. Nicolae is a Roma (or "gypsy") slave in Romania. Therefore, he does not even speak English. Based on my research, the Roma have their own language based in ancient Sanskrit but are also likely to be able to communicate with those outside the Roma community out of necessity.
Then there is Jonathan, who does speak English, but with an Irish brogue.
James Livingston is from the aristocracy, so he would speak the VERY proper English of that time.
Then there is Hector, who lives in Mexico. While he may have learned some English, Spanish is his first language.
Then, the second half of the book takes place in the 1930s, which means a more modern tone than the 1800s, but still different from the 2010s.
So I had my work cut out for me.
Tone, atmosphere, and language ARE important in a historical setting, most definitely. And this is not as easy as it may seem. Obviously, I can't write in the exact words and languages of Nicolae and Hector, and even with Jonathan's accent, striving for 100% accuracy would have been impossible, not to mention make the book VERY unreadable to readers. Even with the slang in the half of the book taking place in the 1930s, I still had to pick and choose just enough to set the right tone while at the same time, not alienating readers who may not be familiar with such terms used at the time.
You want to create an authentic atmosphere, yes. But you also don't want your readers having to reach for a thesaurus every other sentence or throwing your book across the room in frustration because they don't know what the hell your characters are saying. But on the same note, the wrong tone can do that too. What helped me was reading books and watching films from the said eras and getting a feel for how they spoke and acted. From there, try to come to a happy medium.
With my non-English speaking characters and even for Jonathan with his brogue, I simply tried to maintain tone and mannerisms appropriate for the era they live in.

Now, many may look at this and say "well, that's why you should only write what you know." Really? While I will agree that this might be good advice for a new writer just starting out, I thought one of the main points of creating any kind of art was to challenge yourself and step outside the box. Plus, all the fun is in the research and seeing your characters come to life through it all.

As for the "they NEVER would have done that" comments, I propose this: Who the hell wants to read about people that do nothing but follow the rules? Maybe someone out there might disagree, but I like my stories to have tension and keep me on the edge of my seat. Oftentimes, this occurs because someone is doing something they ideally should not be doing. And isn't history full of rebels and people who made waves against what the powers that be pushed? If not, we would not have had any of the historical revolutions that took place. We would not have had suffrage movement or the Roaring 20s. We would not have had things like Woodstock. We would not have had the Renaissance (hence, "Ever After").
While I do agree that it is essential to take society's rules into consideration and be as accurate as you can there, what ABOUT those rules would drive the character to rebel? What events are taking place that affects that character's decision making. To a degree, everyone is a product of his or her environment whether that person is a rule follower or a rule bender/breaker.

The authenticity over accuracy rule does not mean you should just willy nilly write "whatever." You should always research and strive for as much accuracy as possible, but also accept that 100% accuracy is next to impossible and that there will always be "that guy" with something to say how 'wrong' you are. 



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******

My stories, "The Cemetery by the Lake" and "Dusk to Dawn" are available at Smashwords and Barnes & Noble NOOK. More retailers will follow, but Smashwords is pretty compatible with most e-reader and PC formats.
and Amazon
"The Cemetery by the Lake" at Smashwords and Barnes & Noble NOOK
"Dusk to Dawn" at Smashwords
Tiffany on Goodreads
My music is also available at CDBaby
Support great authors and independent bookstores at Smashwords and Indiebound


Interview with Author, Selah Janel

I had the awesome privilege of getting to interview Selah Janel as she promotes her newest work, Olde School. It's also cool when you read someone's interview answers and realize how alike you are! Read on and check out her really unique stories (yeah, I realize that "unique" tends to get overused, but it is very fitting to Ms. Janel and her works) :D


BIO & INTERVIEW

Selah Janel has been blessed with a giant imagination since she was little and convinced that fairies lived in the nearby state park or vampires hid in the abandoned barns outside of town. The many people around her that supported her love of reading and curiosity probably made it worse. Her e-books The Other Man, Holly and Ivy, and Mooner are published through Mocha Memoirs Press. Lost in the Shadows, a collection of short stories celebrating the edges of ideas and the spaces between genres was co-written with S.H. Roddey. Her work has also been included in The MacGuffin, The Realm Beyond, Stories for Children Magazine, The Big Bad: an Anthology of Evil, The Grotesquerie, and Thunder on the Battlefield. Olde School is the first book in her new series, The Kingdom City Chronicles, and is published through Seventh Star Press. She likes her music to rock, her vampires lethal, her fairies to play mind games, and her princesses to hold their own.


TA: First, introduce yourself to our lovely readers.

SJ: Hi there, lovely readers! I am Selah Janel and I tend to write all sorts of speculative fiction. I gravitate to fantasy, urban fantasy, and horror, though my new book, Olde School, is cross-genre. Really that means I can write every genre at once and wreck them all in one fell swoop. I also have worked professionally in theatre and entertainment for a while in costume design and construction. I am a lover of ideas and a reader of everything.

TA: As a writer myself, I'm always interested in hearing about the writing process of other writers. Would you care to discuss how you approach your writing?

SJ: For me it depends on the title. This newest one is a little bit of an anomaly for me, because it originally was supposed to be a short story and turned into a series. However, everything usually starts with a concept or basic idea. It usually involves me wondering about something or noticing a quirk about something I see or think about in my everyday life. There are so many cool things right in front of us all the time; it amazes me and drives me a little crazy that people aren’t in awe of the entire world around them! When I think of all the people I pass by daily and all the stories they’re currently living, or the little moments or things I pass by when I’m out and about...there are countless ideas and inspirations just waiting to be explored. It’s beautiful, a little bit of magic in the mundane all sitting right in front of our eyes.

 After I have a concept or basic idea, I usually start developing a loose plot and delving into the types of characters the story might have. Once I have a basic idea and the characters, I’ll usually know exactly what I want for the first few pages of a short or the first three to five chapters of a story. I usually have an ending in mind, or at least a direction. There may be a couple other plot points that I definitely want to have, but I leave the rest open to give the characters time to develop and give me more ideas. I find that the longer leash I give them, the more headspace I have to be inspired by their personalities and the possibilities they present. I’ve learned that at least for me it’s very rare that I can plot out a story point by point and have it work. In my writing I need wiggle room, I need that space for growth. I don’t like writing to specific genres so much as I do writing what the story or the idea calls for. For me, keeping that point of view helps me focus on details and characterizations that hopefully connect with readers rather than if I was going into things trying to write a “horror” story or a “fantasy tale about a different world.” I’ve also found that I will overwrite tremendously in the first few drafts and then once I get edits back I’ll do a lot of shaping and tightening on my own, especially with my book manuscripts.
It’s not uncommon for me to revamp whole sections or really dig in and finesse something or change something around later in the game if it’s not ringing true to me.



TA: As far back as you can recall, what was the first story you ever wrote?

SJ: As a little girl I definitely went through the phase of re-writing fairy tales and other stories I was familiar with in my own style, but I’m fortunate that I actually have some really early stories scrawled out on that large, grey/tan paper with those really wide red and blue lines, usually accompanied by some scribbled illustration. There was one about a witch trying to be nice, and another about a tooth not wanting to be brushed. The earliest, though...when I was little I was given this blue plastic typewriter. It was finicky on its best day and I wasn’t allowed to play with it very often because I would just go through paper like a madman, trying to get the keys to type perfectly. I slammed out weird little snippets, fairy tale re-vamps, all sorts of things. A few years ago I was going through a mountain of stuff my parents had saved and I actually found some of those stories! I’m going to wager that the earliest was this really short piece about an evil dragon named Jack who kidnapped a princess. I still have it, and I actually featured it (and other stories from my childhood) on my blog under the tag “the lost manuscripts.” I cringe and laugh so hard posting these! It just kills me how egotistical and shameless I was as a little girl. It’s just beautiful, especially reading this particular piece because I fully remember and acknowledge thinking one particular piece of dialogue was so brilliant and crafting the whole story just so I could use a particular line that I thought was just hilarious at the time! I also apparently had the idea that if I changed like a letter in a name that no one would EVER know I was referencing a Disney heroine or myself (I cannot tell you how many leading ladies my childhood stories had that was basically me with a very obvious name change. Self-insertion at its unapologetic finest)!

And yes. There is recording evidence of this story called, appropriately, “A Story of the Middle Ages.”

http://selahjanel.wordpress.com/2012/03/27/sj-the-lost-manuscripts-a-story-of-the-middle-ages/
Don’t judge me.

TA: What are some challenges you face as a writer and author?

SJ: My brain tends to move faster than my time constraints. I have so many ideas, and the past couple years have been a little rough trying to adapt my daily schedule to fitting in all the writing I want to do, plus all the promotion and business work I have to do. I’m still trying to find that balance, and it still drives me a little crazy, though I will readily admit it’s a worthwhile battle.

I tend to...I don’t know that putting myself down is an accurate term. I think I get overwhelmed sometimes because my ideas tend to be a little out of the box, so it’s hard to bounce concepts off people if they aren’t used to me. Sometimes that turns into me wondering if it’s a viable idea or if I’m doing anything remotely worthwhile. I eventually get out of that funk and carry on, because that’s what you need to do. I get impatient with myself – I’ve always said I’m my absolute hardest critic. It’s not necessarily that I want everything right NOW, but I can see how things could play nicely together later down the road, so I have to curb myself from trying to play in every idea at once or going ahead with something that just plain isn’t ready yet. Patience and balance are definitely things that I wrestle with every single day.

TA: Tell us about your newest works.

SJ: Olde School is the first book of the Kingdom City Chronicles and was released in March through Seventh Star Press. I’m so proud of this one. It’s been a lot of work and it’s turned into a combination of so many of my loves: fairy tales and folklore, urban fantasy, horror, silliness...I feel like it really turned into a book that is truly, definitely from me.

Kingdom City is a fairy/folktale based society that’s modernized. Trolls use laptops, there are just as many CEOs as royals, princesses use dating sites to attract suitors’ attentions. It’s not too much different from our world in that they view magic as fiction or old wives tales. Within this world, Paddlelump Stonemonger is a successful businesstroll, though many brush him off because he looks and acts too nice. Even his house maid starts to try to manipulate him, not to mention the fact that the city politicians are after his land!

And then he finds out that magic really is real, and it’s horrible. There’s a lot of fun characters in this book – feisty waitresses, talking animals, troll businessmen, goblin lawyers, an ogre sheriff. It’s a lot of fun and there are a lot of different layers to it. Even if you’re not familiar with some of the stories I draw from, you can appreciate it as a fun adventure. It’s one of those titles where I think there really is something for everyone, since it draws from so many different genres and blends them together in a unique way.




TA: What's coming up for you? Plug away!

SJ: I just re-released a short, historical vampire story through Mocha Memoirs Press. Mooner takes place in a late 1800’s lumber camp saloon and explores what happens when you put different personalities and moralities together in a small enclosure on one of the few evenings where a group of strong-personalities can cut loose. To add to it, the central character is fairly naïve, and then in comes a stranger with a terrible thirst who will do anything for a drink.

I’m also working on pieces for a couple of anthologies, as well as preparing some stories for an issue of Trail of Indiscretion dedicated to my fiction. I’m also polishing up two stand-alone novels and getting ready to shop those out. Then there’s always Kingdom City! I’m hoping to do a side collection of short stories based around the female characters of the first book, then move on to book two. There’s a lot I want to do, and I’m really excited for all of it! Thanks so much for having me on your blog so that I could talk about my projects!

More on Olde School by Selah Janel

Book One of the Kingdom City Chronicles



Available at:  Kindle       Amazon Paperback   Amazon UK    Nook    B&N Paperback     Kobo

Genres:
Cross-Genre: Fantasy, Fairy/Folktale, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Horror
 

Kingdom City has moved into the modern era. Run by a lord mayor and city council (though still under the influence of the High King of The Land), it proudly embraces a blend of progress and tradition. Trolls, ogres, and other Folk walk the streets with humans, but are more likely to be entrepreneurs than cause trouble. Princesses still want to be rescued, but they now frequent online dating services to encourage lords, royals, and politicians to win their favor. The old stories are around, but everyone knows they’re just fodder for the next movie franchise. Everyone knows there’s no such thing as magic. It’s all old superstition and harmless tradition.

Bookish, timid, and more likely to carry a laptop than a weapon, Paddlelump Stonemonger is quickly coming to wish he’d never put a toll bridge over Crescent Ravine. While his success has brought him lots of gold, it’s also brought him unwanted attention from the Lord Mayor. Adding to his frustration, Padd’s oldest friends give him a hard time when his new maid seems inept at best and conniving at worst.

When a shepherd warns Paddlelump of strange noises coming from Thadd Forest, he doesn’t think much of it. Unfortunately for him, the history of his land goes back further than anyone can imagine. Before long he’ll realize that he should have paid attention to the old tales and carried a club.Darkness threatens to overwhelm not only Paddlelump, but the entire realm. With a little luck, a strange bird, a feisty waitress, and some sturdy friends, maybe, just maybe, Padd will survive to eat another meal at Trip Trap’s diner. It’s enough to make the troll want to crawl under his bridge, if he can manage to keep it out of the clutches of greedy politicians.


Selah’s Links:
Blog – http://www.selahjanel.wordpress.com
Facebook Author Page – http://www.facebook.com/authorSJ
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/SelahJanel
Amazon Author Page - http://www.amazon.com/Selah-Janel/e/B0074DKC9K
Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5622096.Selah_Janel






If you would like to join our community and receive content exclusive to email, join our little tribe and Subscribe to my Messages from the Labyrinth Mailing List.. We promise to never share your info or spam you. Ever.

You can also subscribe to my YouTube Channel for new vlogging updates.


******

My stories, "The Cemetery by the Lake" and "Dusk to Dawn" are available at Smashwords and Barnes & Noble NOOK. More retailers will follow, but Smashwords is pretty compatible with most e-reader and PC formats.
and Amazon
"The Cemetery by the Lake" at Smashwords and Barnes & Noble NOOK
"Dusk to Dawn" at Smashwords
Tiffany on Goodreads
My music is also available at CDBaby
Support great authors and independent bookstores at Smashwords and Indiebound

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