Review: Empire of Wild

 

I didn't know what to expect when I heard that this is a book with a rogarou involved. I used to live in the Southern US and the Cajun culture also has rogarou legends so I was interested to see how the stories of the Metis in Canada and the Cajuns in Louisiana overlapped. (By the way, rogarou comes from the French loup-garou which is a werewolf.)

Empire of Wild turned out to be fun. Fun as in horror fun, not a bunch of laughs and jokes. The beliefs and customs of the traditional Metis, such as the older women Mere and Ajean, were fascinating. It was interesting how some traditions found in First Nations' Canada are also found in the Southern US. For instance, Ajean put 13 items on her welcome mat because a Rogarou has an obsession to count things, but can't count over 12. You can stop one in its tracks by giving it 13 things to count. By the same token, some people in the South put a colander out because a supernatural being has an obsession to count and will have to count all the holes in the strainer--ending up counting until sunrise when they have to leave.

Well, that has little to do with the book. It's a fun book with a lot of interesting culture that many of us are unfamiliar with.

Have a horror manuscript to pitch? These agents are looking for you.

 

BookEnds is Seeking Horror!

AGENT BOOKENDS • FEB 8, 2021 • 2 COMMENTS

The agents of BookEnds represent nearly all genres and sub-genres in fiction and non-fiction. But did you know our agents are seeking….

HORROR!

Three BookEnds agents are seeking Horror (or horror-adjacent) projects in their inboxes. Here is more from them about exactly what they’re looking for:

Amanda Jain

Amanda Jain is seeking adult horror, dark speculative fiction and thrillers, and narrative nonfiction. She always enjoys narratives that feature damaged characters trying to overcome their own personal demons to find the strength to survive, and, in general, is interested in horror that trends more psychological and atmospheric versus the 80s slasher film variety. She is always a fan of coming-of-age books where a group of friends must band together in the vein of Stephen King’s Stand by Me or Stranger Things. She is also interested in horror with a darkly humorous edge like Emily Danforth’s PLAIN BAD HEROINES and Grady Hendrix’s THE SOUTHERN BOOK CLUB’S GUIDE TO SLAYING VAMPIRES or the tv shows DEAD TO ME and SANTA CLARITA DIET. Amanda would love to see a contemporary take on the traditional Gothic novel, and is always interested in seeing a new take on the traditional haunted house. And she’d always be interested in nonfiction that deals in some way with the genre like Mallory O’Meara’s THE LADY FROM THE BLACK LAGOON or Nina Nesseth’s upcoming NIGHTMARE FUEL.

You can query Amanda at: http://queryme.online/AmandaJain.

Naomi Davis

Naomi Davis is seeking adult and YA horror, and they always prefer a speculative bent. They are looking for stories that blend fact (or lore commonly accepted as truth) with fiction, like in THE DEEP by Alma Katsu. They like to have their perception of true places and events challenged by spooky speculative elements. They also love dark, lush stories that center around powerful characters exploring terrifying magic and myths through diverse family dynamics, such as LABYRINTH LOST by Zoraida Cordova, and would love a YA horror that leans more into the fright than the paranormal.

You can query Naomi at: http://queryme.online/naomidavis.

James McGowan

James is most interested in horror where it meets thriller and suspense. He enjoys books that produce that unsettling, nervous feeling in a reader, while still being grounded in realism. Some examples of James’ taste include:
·     The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
·     The Whisper Man and The Shadows by Alex North
·     In the Woods by Tana French
·     Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
You can query James at http://queryme.online/jmcgowan

CATEGORY: BLOG • DAVIS • HORROR • JAIN • MCGOW

Arterial Bloom in Final Five!

 Arterial Bloom, the horror anthology where my short story Kudzu Stories appears, is now in the final five nominees for Outstanding Achievement in Anthology for the Bram Stoker awards. Congratulation for editor Mercedes Yardley, to Crystal Lake Publishing, and to all the writers whose stories appear in Arterial Bloom.

 

P.S. The forward is by the great horror and poetry writer, Linda D. Addison.

Review of Sorrowland

 

  

My eyeball-o-meter popped off the charts with this one. What is an eyeball-o-meter? That when almost every character, minor characters, major characters, even characters who appear for a split second and don't have any dialogue, roll their eyeballs instead of thinking, showing emotion, or saying something worthwhile. There was so much eyeball rolling that it took me out of the story. I'd think not again, because there was so much of that going on.

My smirk-o-meter didn't top out but it did tremble a bit. There was some smirking going on, too. There seems to be a lot of smirking and eyeball rolling in current books. An otherwise original book as to be like all the others when it comes to facial cliches.  C'mon authors, do better.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing this ARC of Sorrowland.

Review Girl One

 

Girl One is one unhappy girl. Who can blame her? A lot of men in the world are pissed off that a few women gave birth without any help from men. I mean, no help at all. We're talking virgin births. Nine girls have been born and are now young adults. Some dudes think they're freaks, monsters, or witches. And some men (I'm looking at you, GOP) think women's uteruses must be controlled. Women who can give birth without men need to be destroyed.

    Girl One, aka Josephine, is on the run, searching for her kidnapped mother while pursued by murderous men, strange men, unknown men, and worst of all, an author. Along the way she finds more of the original nine, but also finds murder, arson, and...supernatural powers. It seems that virgin births breed miracles. But, is that enough to survive the misogyny that threatens to destroy the girls and their mothers?

    This is a novel with a lot of fast-paced action, mystery, even mind control. Birds falling from the sky, too. And it reminds us that men still find reproduction a mystery and some men still want to control that mystery. A gripping read with characters you'll like, and some that you'll want to jump into the book and kill them before they do worse things. (Wouldn't you love to jump into books and throttle those who need it? Or boink others who need it?)

Arterial Bloom in Running for Bram Stoker Award

 Happy news for the happy horror writer. Arterial Bloom, the horror anthology edited by Stoker winner Mercedes Yardley, and published by Stoker winner Crystal Lake Publishing, is one of the ten finalists for the Bram Stoker award for Outstanding Achievement in Anthology. What an honor.

My story, Kudzu Stories, happens to be in Arterial Bloom.

Mercedes is a fine horror writer, a fine editor, and a fine human being. Crystal Lake Publishing is open for beginners. In fact, they currently have a call for submissions where they are holding a story spot open for a writer who has never been published. 

Check out the books by Mercedes Yardley and the books published by Crystal Lake. Good people who put out scary books. People who take a chance on the likes of me.

                                      Buy This Book or Else

Life Gets Sucky Even for Happy Horror Writers

 I'm finally back. I won't bore you with details of why I haven't posted since August, but I'm back and will hopefully remain back. The pandemic put the brakes on my antique furniture restoration business (all my customers closed their antique stores) and I couldn't afford internet. For awhile I couldn't afford electricity! Here I've gone and bored you with my situation when I promised I wouldn't. The thing is, my very small secondary income, selling short stories, crashed and burned without the internet. Couldn't find calls for submission. Yikes.

I'm back for good, I hope, with some horror reviews and some tips on writing. Good to be back.