Today's Author Spotlight is author Payne Schanski!

Read on for the full interview.

Publication date: March 16th, 2021

Amazon | Goodreads

For fifteen-year-old JB, life couldn't get much worse.

He's been grounded for six months after making a huge mistake that's ruined his reputation, and now his life consists of going to school and coming straight home: no more basketball games or adventures with his friends. The word "fun" seems to have been erased from his life, and he's lost all hope-that is, until he hears about a legendary abandoned house in a secluded area called Five Mile Creek, buried deep within the forests of Northern Michigan. The house is known by the locals to be haunted. Curious and fearless, JB rallies an unpredictable group of misfits to make a journey to the house one cold February night-even though he knows he's on the brink of making the same life-altering mistake again. However, what the amateur ghost hunters encounter is far from anything they could have imagined, and all of them are there for reasons of their own, and with a lot at stake. For JB, solving this mystery means facing the decisions that continue to haunt his soul.

Containing echoes of classic '80s films such as Stand by Me and The Breakfast Club, The Ghost of Five Mile Creek is, at its heart, an unflinching and authentic take on growing up. While wrestling with the always brewing inner storm of adolescence, the characters-all on the edge of adulthood, with childhood's idealism slipping from their respective grasps-crave greater answers about the mysteries of life and death, and about who they are as they form their own identities and images. At the heart of this funny, insightful, and profound book are several core questions: Should we allow our pasts to haunt us? Can the harsh reality of death bring any clarity on how we wish to live our lives? And lastly, are all mistakes truly "mistakes," or do they hold something deeper than shame?...

Can you start out by telling us a little about your latest work? 

'Ghost' is my first YA novel, and at its heart, I consider it just a true and authentic take on a fifteen-year-old boy trying to navigate high school--figuring out who he is and who he wants to be. JB has been punished for an entire school year for some mistakes he made over the summer, but when he hears some of his classmates talking about this legendary 'haunted' house and planning an excursion to it, he can't help himself from wanting to go.

Along the way, I wanted JB to face a bit of a reckoning with the decisions he made to put him in his current predicament. I made sure to put him in position to face people from his past one-on-one and see whether he's grown at all (along with one from his future--though he doesn't know that yet).

The odd crew is out trying to unravel the mysteries behind the abandoned house, but at a certain point in the night, their interactions with each other become more important, and the 'ghost' takes a bit of a backseat. In many ways, I consider it something of a cross between "The Breakfast Club" and "Stand By Me" for that reason.

Where did you get the inspiration to write this story?

Part of it is from my own experiences growing up in Northern Michigan; another large part is from my years working with middle school and high school students in a youth enrichment program.

Observing adolescence when you're not the one going through it is endlessly interesting--for instance, the fragile social dynamics, the constant swirl of rumors and how hard it can be to sort out the truth. One thing that I think is universal at that age is making countless mistakes, but ultimately just wanting to do well, find your place, and make someone proud of you.

Which of your characters was your favorite to write and why?

Jennie, because she starts off as such a side character, but becomes more and more influential as the night goes on. She is little bit older than the boys and in a different social orbit than them. She's able to get away with certain things too, which puts them in awe of her to an extent early on. Jennie turns out to be a far different person than the main character expects, and I think readers will enjoy building both respect and sympathy for her as the story progresses.

Do you have any writing superstitions?

Most of my best ideas come while I'm shooting hoops by myself. The quiet repetition and peace of just playing a game that I love for no reason besides enjoyment turns that act into a creative space for me. You'll even see that aspect hit the page as basketball is a happy place that the character JB adopts as well and where he feels most calm and at home.

What are you currently reading?

I'm currently rereading 'Down and Out In Paris and London' by George Orwell, whle waiting on a fresh Amazon book order to arrive. Haven't been able to start any of these yet, but here is the upcoming list:
The Great Santini, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, The Adventures of Pinocchio, Burmese Days

A lot of authors have a soundtrack while writing. Are there are songs you had on repeat?

Not with this book necessarily, but definitely for the next two that I've been working on. I would go for a week or two at a time, just playing the same five or six songs while I wrote, to the point where those artists even have an influence on how the story itself develops.

Artists I had on repeat at various times: Suede, Ariana Grande, The Weeknd, J. Cole, M83, Oasis, Mariah Carey, The Stone Roses, probably others that I'm not thinking of at the moment.

Would you rather live in a haunted mansion or a cottage surrounded by fairytale creatures?

Despite the contents of 'The Ghost of Five Mile Creek', I'd still probably go with the fairytale creatures--not the evil ones though.

Are you on social media and can your readers interact with you? What are your links?

Yes, I have an Instagram account that's still very much in its infancy. I'll post about books that I'm currently reading, things that I'm writing, share (brag about...?) little victories along the way, show things that inspire me or my work. Readers are definitely encouraged to interact with me; I'm always excited to give book recommendations to people based on their personalities and interests.

Follow me @payneschanski_writer and introduce yourself!

Do you have a WIP? If so, can you tell us anything about it?

I have two more books in the JB series that are on their way. 'Ghost' has a strange position in that I wrote it first, but it's actually the middle book of a three part series. I wasn't necessarily trying to be 'experimental' or doing some sort of Star Wars style chronology... it was just the first plot that I was able to fully form so I ran with it!

Payne Schanski has worked as an educator, coach, and mentor for middle school and high school students over the past decade. Working closely with these students has meant revisiting the fears, insecurities, and mistakes that make adolescence the turbulent learning experience that it is. These observations, as well as the author’s own experiences growing up in Northern Michigan, inspired him to write The Ghost of Five Mile Creek, his debut novel. The Ghost of Five Mile Creek is the middle book of a three-part series, along with the soon-to-be released Blue Houses on the Peninsula and Redemption Summer. His other writing includes humor pieces featured at 'The Toast' and 'Slackjaw' and as a Detroit Lions blogger for 'SideLion Report'. After eight years living in Boston, Schanski recently moved back to Northern Michigan with his wife, Cathy AuGuste Schanski. He enjoys playing tennis and basketball in his free time. 

Payne, thank you so much for being a guest on Cats Luv Coffee Book Reviews!

Publication date: June 9th, 2021

Links: Amazon | Goodreads

Not all gifts are a blessing. Some are a curse.

When Amelia turned 12, she began growing pearls. Every month, a crop of beautiful pearls bursts from the skin on her back. Her mother, Denise, believes her daughter is blessed, and sells the pearls to put food on the table. Amelia sees her condition as a curse. As the pearls form, her body aches and her skin grows feverish. The harvest of pearls brings temporary relief from the pain, but leaves her back marred by scars. Denise hides Amelia away from the world, worried that Amelia’s gift will be discovered and she will be abducted for the wealth she can provide. Now a young woman, Amelia realizes she has become her mother’s captive, and plans her escape. When she runs away from home, she finds a new family in a troupe of performers at a museum of human oddities. She soon discovers the world is much more dangerous than her mother feared.

Read now

Body horror and the female body

by Melissa Eskue ousley

I love stories where magic comes with a price. I was thinking about that concept as I wrote

Constellations of Scars, which is about a girl who grows pearls under her skin. A gift like that would be both a blessing and a curse. You could sell the pearls and become wealthy, but the act of growing the pearls would take a toll. It would be painful and leave your skin marred by scars. It would also be a dangerous gift, because if the wrong people found out about it, they might exploit you to enrich themselves.

I paired Amelia’s gift of growing pearls with her menstrual cycle because it seemed logical to link the phenomenon to hormones and a monthly occurrence. To stay true to the story, I needed to describe the process of growing pearls in a way that was both magical and realistic, that gave a sense of the pain and horror that a person would experience if they had to go through that every month.

But how much horror is too much? There’s a fine line between evoking horror and keeping readers engaged, and pushing that boundary so far the reader becomes disgusted and is turned off by the story. That line is subjective. Every reader has different limits when it comes to horror.

On the other hand, the human experience—growing older, dealing with illness, wrestling with one’s own mortality—is full of horror. In the end, that’s what Constellations of Scars is about: what it means to be human. Amelia’s experience, and the experiences of some of the other characters in the story who have physical oddities, may be different than that of most human beings, but suffering is universal. We all know what it’s like to experience pain and hardship. In that sense, horror is a shared experience.

Melissa Eskue Ousley is an award-winning author living on the Oregon coast with her family, a neurotic dog, two charming cats, and a piranha. Her suspense novel, Pitcher Plant, is set in Seaside, and won a 2018 Independent Publisher Book Award. Her young adult novel, Sunset Empire, debuted in a bestselling boxed set. Her short stories have been included in Rain Magazine, The North Coast Squid, and various anthologies. When she’s not writing, she can be found volunteering for her local wildlife center, caring for injured owls and hawks.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

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Today's Author Spotlight is author Kelsey Sather !

Read on for the full interview.

Publication date: March 8th, 2021

Amazon | Goodreads

Over millennia, across the seven seterras of Aligaea, twelve women—the Anima—develop powers akin to apex predators. Along with their bestial strength and speed, they inherit the Task to restore ecological Order to the world. Yet fulfilling the Task seems improbable as the Imperium spreads a plague of ecocide and despotism across the land, ushering in the apocalypse with its infectious Disorder.

Stout and smart Freda Johansson leaves behind a promising career, love, and community to seek the red-capped mushroom capable of turning her into the final Anima. Whether it's plant magic or free will guiding her from emerald forests to austere peaks, she doesn't care. She only needs to find the mushroom before the Imperial Forces can seal the catastrophic fate of the planet.

The sacred balance of Life depends on the birth of the Anima—but even then, she must choose to own her powers as both woman and wild beast.

Where did you get the inspiration to write this story?

The idea for the Ancient Language of the Earth trilogy began as a question. I was pursuing a Master’s in Environmental Humanities, and my course work involved a lot of depressing research about the ecological crisis we find ourselves in. I often wondered how, and why, humans became disconnected from the natural world that sustains us. One night, I wrote in my journal, what would it feel like to live fully, truly, as a human animal? The concept of the Anima grew from there.

When you developed the characters, did you already know who they were before you began writing or did they develop organically?

As many fiction authors will attest to, the process of creating characters is mysterious and organic. My characters reveal themselves to me at their leisure, and I’ll spend hours free-writing in an effort to get to know them better. It’s not unlike a relationship with a new friend: it takes time to understand a person, and even then, the person will continue to surprise us decades later. I connect most with Elle and Freda, as I’ve spent the most time with them. .

Which of your characters was your favorite to write and why?

I connect most with Elle and Freda, as I’ve spent the most time with them. Elle is like a beloved little 

sister to me, while I consider Freda an inner mentor.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned (about your story, about yourself, etc.) while writing?

Such a great question! I studied nonfiction (environmental writing) in school, and while I’ve always loved reading fiction, especially fantasy, Birth of the Anima is my first project as a fiction writer. I was surprised to learn how mysterious and organic the fiction writing process proves to be. Characters become real people, and they constantly surprise me in making their own decisions, despite my efforts to “control” the story.

What is one of your favorite words? OR Is there a word you find yourself using too often?

I love nouns that lend themselves to verbs and adjectives through the qualities that noun exhibits. My favorite example of such a word is squirrel.

If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

Woofta. So many things, but mainly: practice patience and faith. Show up consistently, hone your craft with intention, and let go of the need for external validation. Or as Deepak Chopra said, “If you focus on success, you’ll have stress. But if you pursue excellence, success will be guaranteed.”

Are you on social media and can your readers interact with you? What are your links?

My website and newsletter are the best way to stay up to date on my upcoming releases: https://kelseyksather.com/

I also love interacting with readers on my Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kelseyksather/

Do you have a favorite line that you've written? What is it and why do you like it?

I don’t have a favorite, but there is a line from the first version of Birth of the Anima that survived eight years of ruthless editing. It reads, “Elle took the long way to work.” It’s a simple sentence, nothing special on a surface-level, but its meaning runs deep in Elle’s story. Elle resists her inner power, and in so doing, she prolongs engaging with her life’s true work.

Do you have a WIP? If so, can you tell us anything about it?

Yes! I'm currently writing Book Two in the Ancient Language of the Earth trilogy.

Thanks so much for participating in the Author Spotlight! Anything you'd like to add?

My hope is that readers discover, or rather rediscover, their kinship with ‘other,’ both human and non, and feel deeply compelled to help create a just and ecologically sound world. Thank you for featuring me and helping me spread that message!

KELSEY K. SATHER lives in Montana. Her stories explore the complexities of human-nature interconnections. While an author of nonfiction essays for over a decade, fantasy remains her first and true love. She received an MA in Environmental Humanities from the University of Utah. At the University of Montana, she received the Davidson Honors College Scholar Distinction in Creative Writing and Environmental Studies. When she’s not writing, she can usually be found in the mountains.

Connect with Kelsey K. Sather on her website and Instagram.

Birth of the Anima is available at independent bookstores, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.

Kelsey, thank you so much for being a guest on Cats Luv Coffee Book Reviews!

Publication date: May 21st, 2021

Publisher: Eerie River Publishing

Links: Amazon | Goodreads

Prepare to die. The sea awakens.

Within the Mariana Trench, a research vessel’s crew is threatened by a mysterious force. A father and daughter’s holiday by the ocean turns deadly as a sinister creature stalks them. A group of friends learn that some things should remain in the ocean. Filled with a sense of wonder, a young biologist discovers a new species of kelp, but with disastrous consequences.

It Calls From the Sea is an all-original anthology of twenty brutal tales of horror from the deep blue sea.

Eerie River brings you another round of insatiable horror. There is no end to the terrors we have in store and there is nowhere left to hide. Get comfy, this is going to be a wild ride.

Featuring Stories:
Chris Bannor “Euphoria”

Chris Hewitt “Reef Encounter” 

Christopher Bond “The Ocean Sings Softly”

Dan Le Fever “Xook”

David Green “Into The Depths”

Georgia Cook “Dead Ships”

Holley Cornetto “Heaven’s Lake”

Julie Sevens “Shoney’s Revenge”

Lin Darrow “Cry of the Hunger Fish”, M.B.Vujacic “Jelly”

Mason Gallaway, “The Sea Reaches Up”
McKenzie Richardson “The Hunter and the Prey”

R. L. Meza “Long Pork”

S.O. Green “The Shadow Over Innsmouth High”

Steve Neal “Hostile Territory”

T. M. Brown “Buoy 21415”

Tim Mendees “Fronds”

Trey Dowell “Abyssal Horror”

Watt Morgan “Please Leave”

Read now

Dead Ships by Georgia Cook

It washed up at dawn, drawn in on the morning tide from around the curve of the bay; a fishing boat, small enough for a cabin and a crew of three, but of no make or name we recognized. It curved gently towards the beach, its path haphazard and aimless, engines silent and windows dark. By the time it hit the shingle and plowed to a juddering halt a small crowd of us had gathered on the dockside to watch. 

There’s something about an empty boat--something dragged in off the tide like that, all slow and sedate--you get to feeling it after a certain time at sea, like a second sense. That’s why none of the old fishermen made a move when it finally came to rest; they already knew what we’d find. 

Perhaps it started with the snow.

Great, driving fistfuls were we got that month; merciless, relentless, day after day. A frigid wind howled it down off the clifftops, swamping the roads and transforming the surrounding hills into impenetrable, white monoliths. Nobody arrived in town, nobody left; that’s how things go around here come winter.

There’s a saying in these parts that it takes a special kind of madness to move here from out of town, and another kind to stay. The seas and the cold breed a particular type of person--it settles in the bones, then squeezes the lungs; sharp and cloying in every breath. This far north the cold is bitter. Or perhaps it started before that, and none of us noticed. 

Some of us tried to sail that week, but only made it as far as the curve of the bay before we were forced to turn back. Battered by the gale and the driving snow, there was no thought of casting our nets. Cutting through the snow was like cutting through ice; nothing in either direction but tumbling flakes and shifting, black sea. 

We watched the snow fall, watched it settle on the water and sink, and out of it all we watched the boat arrive. 

Philip Abernathy was the first to climb abroad, shimmying up the side like a boy climbing a drainpipe. Twenty-three that May--newly promoted, the youngest Constable in a town of sturdy fishermen and grey-faced old men--possibly he felt it his duty to take charge, or at very least be the first to check. He was, after all, vastly on his own up here until the snows cleared and the mountain roads became accessible again.  

He’d been our Constable for all of two months, and up until then had contended with nothing worse than the odd Drunk and Disorderly on a Saturday night. It was too cold, too dark, to expect any trouble worth hurrying for.  

He disappeared inside the captain’s cabin, calling nervously, then stumbled out a moment later and was violently sick over the side.  

The old fishermen knew, and now we knew too: no ship so silent has ever been manned by the living.

Once he’d been helped down, pale and trembling, Abernathy directed a few of us up to find the body. It was slumped across the wheel, he said, tilting back and forth with the rock of the ship, its boots dragging in a slow, steady rut across the floorboards. It might have been a man once, but that was an estimated guess. It no longer had a face, just a slumped, desiccated skeleton. 

Its hands, Philip whispered, its hands were clasped so tightly to the wheel. So tightly he couldn’t pry them open.

We found the rest of the crew below deck.

There’s a reason so many fishing communities boast smokeries and salt houses; salted things keep. Salted things keep for a long time, and add to that the conditions of an arctic winter...

 

It Calls From the Sea is a new anthology by Eerie River Publishing containing "brutal tales of horror from the deep blue sea". I was excited for this collection, having a personal fear of the oceans—due to my cousin getting wrapped up in a Portuguese Man-O-War when I was very little. That, and let's be honest, growing up in the "Jaws" generation. There's something about not knowing what's in the deep waters underneath your feet that can send shivers up your spine. Or even worse, knowing what actually is! What better to read than a themed collection about one of the things that truly terrifies me. 

Containing twenty tales from twenty different authors, this collection of watery horrors has a little something for everyone. There's killer kelp, menacing mermaids, elder gods, family curses, and all things in between. Honestly I'm amazed at the variety of the stories while still keeping with the aquatic theme. Mythology from multiple pantheons, body horror, tales of revenge, and maritime monstrosities all find their way across these pages. These tales are claustrophobic, tense, and oh, so wonderful. 

Some standouts in the collection:

"The Ocean Sings Softly" by Christopher Bond - I loved this tale of a grandmother and her horrifying past. A past that is reaching out with cold dead hands to drag her granddaughter down with it. 

 

"Please Leave" by Watt Morgan - The sea gave something back this time, something that should have never drug itself out of the waters of the bay. This one creeps up little by little and had some pretty horrifying imagery that was very effective. 

“The Hunter and the Prey” by McKenzie Richardson - When a story starts with " You'd look even prettier if you smiled", I can't wait to see where it leads. The twist at the end of this one was simply marvelous. 

"Cry of the Hunger Fish" by Lin Darrow - Talk about a claustrophobic tale. This definitely gave me Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" vibes as the narrator's experience becomes more and more surreal.

"Euphoria" by Chris Banner - I adore stories about Kelpies, those water horses in Scottish folklore that drown their victims. While the author didn't reinvent the wheel, this was the perfect horror version of one of my favorite creatures. 

Eerie River Publishing has also put out collections It Calls From the Forest (Vol 1 and Vol. 2) and It Calls From the Sky. Considering this strong collection of works, I will definitely be adding those others to my TBR.

Book Tour Schedule

June 7^th

Reads & Reels (Spotlight) http://readsandreels.com

The Consulting Writer (Review) https://theconsultingwriter.wordpress.com/

@jypsylynn (Review) https://www.instagram.com/jypsylynn/

Jessica Belmont (Review) https://jessicabelmont.wordpress.com/

June 8^th

Books, Rambling & Tea (Spotlight) https://booksramblingsandtea.com/

Lunarian Press (Spotlight) https://www.lunarianpress.com/

Jennifer Mitchell, Bibliolater (Review) https://jennifermitchellbooks.com/

Banshee Irish Horror Blog (Review) http://bansheeirishhorrorblog.com/

Rambling Mads (Review) http://ramblingmads.com

June 9^th

The Invisible Moth (Review) https://daleydowning.wordpress.com

Stine Writing (Review) https://christinebialczak.com/

Phantom of the Library (Review) https://phantomofthelibrary.com/

Catz Luv Coffee (Review) https://catsluvcoffeez.blogspot.com

June 10^th

Breakeven Books (Spotlight) https://breakevenbooks.com

@tiny.bibliophile (Review) https://www.instagram.com/tiny.bibliophile/< /a>

Musings of a Final Girl (Review) https://musingsofafinalgirl.wordpress.com/

@dreaminginpages (Review) https://www.instagram.com/dreaminginpag es/

June 11^th

Sophril Reads (Spotlight) http://sophrilreads.wordpress.com

@happily_undignified (Review) https://www.instagram.com/happily_und ignified/

@amysbooknook8 (Review) https://www.instagram.com/amysbooknook 8/

I Smell Sheep (Review) http://www.ismellsheep.com/

Liliyana Shadowlyn (Review) https://lshadowlynauthor.com/

On the Shelf Reviews (Review) https://ontheshelfreviews.wordpress.com

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Publication date: May 14th, 2021
Publisher: Eerie River Publishing
Links: Amazon | Goodreads

HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO TO GET YOUR SON BACK?

Something is lurking within the woods just beyond the young Dreyer family’s new country home. And an evil that has been hiding in plain sight for centuries is about to emerge.

A neighbor is brutally murdered, their 4-year-old son goes missing in broad daylight, and the local town of Bensalem devolves into a cesspool of finger-pointing and chaos.

With nowhere left to turn, Aaron and Ellen Dreyer are forced to venture into the woods to find their son. But in the process, they uncover a force larger and more sinister than anything they ever could have imagined.

Read now

Well, hello there! My name is Drew Starling.

I’m an author of horror and dark fiction. I love writing strong female leads and I’ll promise you one thing: the dog never dies.

If you wanted to trace back the history of my writing career, my mother would refer you to a poem I wrote about bats in a graveyard in 2 nd grade. She still has it, laminated and smashed in a binder of decades old memories from my childhood.

But I started writing horror in earnest about three years ago when something really strange happened to me.

Every year, my friends and I rent a cabin in the foothills of Shenandoah National Park. It’s really out there. No people, no towns, just trees and grass and hills. Three years ago, I arrived at the cabin straight from a trip I took to India, and I had the WORST jet lag I’ve ever had. I’d sleep all day and be awake all night.

Anyway, one night when I was lying awake, I rolled over to my side and gazed out the big front window of the bedroom I was staying in. The view overlooked a gloriously vast meadow filled with pine trees and wheatgrass, and right around 4am, when everyone else was asleep and a new dawn mist was forming in the distance, I saw this large shadowy thing slowly move across the land. I got up to look at what the thing was, but I couldn’t make it out, only to see that it was absolutely huge. It didn’t do anything crazy, it just moved – almost hovered – from one side of the meadow to the other.

After I was done being completely terrified and the sun came up, my mind ran wild with story possibilities. I scribbled an idea down on a piece of paper and recounted it to my friends that very day. Turn it into a short story! Turn it into a screenplay!

I was shocked they actually thought it was… good. So I did, and it started a little thing I was just going to post online until some fellow indie authors encouraged me to do more with it. I spent the next two years writing, and rewriting, and editing, and rewriting, and RE-rewriting, and just last week it finally saw the light of day in the form my first full length novel, Sentinel.

I’ve already got a sequel in the works, and I’m releasing a short story collection later this fall with my best short fiction to date. If you want to check out my work, I’d be utterly delighted if you gave Sentinel a try (free on KU for a limited time). 

Thanks very much, and I hope I get to scare you soon!

DS

An Amazon bestselling author of horror and dark fiction, Drew Starling is a husband and dog dad who loves strong female leads, martial arts, and long walks in the woods with canine companions. He would like to think his plots are better than his prose, but strives to make his words sound both beautiful and terrifying at the same time. He listens to Beethoven, Megadeth, and Enya when he writes, and he’d be absolutely delighted if you’d consider joining his mailing list (which you can find a link to about one and a half mouse scrolls up this page). His only rule of writing: the dog never dies.

Drew Sterling | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon

Book Tour Schedule

May 31st

Reads & Reels (Spotlight) http://readsandreels.com

Book Dragons Not Worms (Spotlight) https://bookdragonsnotworms.blogspot.com/?m=1

Didi Oviatt (Spotlight) https://didioviatt.wordpress.com

I Smell Sheep (Spotlight) http://www.ismellsheep.com/

June 1st

Breakeven Books (Spotlight) https://breakevenbooks.com

Dark Whimsical Art (Spotlight) https://www.darkwhimsicalart.com/blogs/news

The Magic of Wor(l)ds (Spotlight) http://themagicofworlds.wordpress.com

@bookloverleah (Review) https://www.instagram.com/bookloverleah/

June 2nd

Nesie’s Place (Spotlight) https://nesiesplace.wordpress.com

Jessica Belmont (Review) https://jessicabelmont.wordpress.com/

The Musings of a Final Girl (Spotlight) https://musingsofafinalgirl.wordpress.com/

Cats Luv Coffee (Guest Post) https://www.catsluvcoffee.com/

June 3rd

Scarlett Readz & Runz (Spotlight) https://scarlettreadzandrunz.com/

Liliyana Shadowlyn (Review) https://lshadowlynauthor.com/

@gin_books_crochethooks (Review) https://www.instagram.com/gin_books_crochethooks/

Cocktails & Fairy Tales (Spotlight) https://www.facebook.com/CocktailsFairytales

June 4th

@dreaminginpages (Review) https://www.instagram.com/dreaminginpages/

@evelovesbooks_travel_art (Review) https://www.instagram.com/evelovesbooks_travel_art/

Phantom of the Library (Review) https://phantomofthelibrary.com/

@the.b00kreader (Review) https://www.instagram.com/the.b00kreader/

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Here is this month's roundup of anticipated horror releases! 

 The Shape of Darkness by Laura Purcell

Publication date (rerelease): June 1st, 2021

Links: Amazon | Goodreads

A struggling silhouette artist in Victorian Bath seeks out a renowned child spirit medium in order to speak to the dead - and to try and identify their killers - in this beguiling new tale from the queen of Gothic fiction, Laura Purcell.

As the age of the photograph dawns in Victorian Bath, silhouette artist Agnes is struggling to keep her business afloat. Still recovering from a serious illness herself, making enough money to support her elderly mother and her orphaned nephew Cedric has never been easy, but then one of her clients is murdered shortly after sitting for Agnes, and then another, and another... Why is the killer seemingly targeting her business?

Desperately seeking an answer, Agnes approaches Pearl, a child spirit medium lodging in Bath with her older half-sister and her ailing father, hoping that if Pearl can make contact with those who died, they might reveal who killed them. But Agnes and Pearl quickly discover that instead they may have opened the door to something that they can never put back.

Read now

For the Wolf by Hannah F. Whitten

Publication date: June 1st, 2021

Links: Amazon | Goodreads

The first daughter is for the Throne.
The second daughter is for the Wolf.

For fans of Uprooted and The Bear and the Nightingale comes a dark fantasy novel about a young woman who must be sacrificed to the legendary Wolf of the Wood to save her kingdom. But not all legends are true, and the Wolf isn't the only danger lurking in the Wilderwood.

As the only Second Daughter born in centuries, Red has one purpose-to be sacrificed to the Wolf in the Wood in the hope he'll return the world's captured gods.

Red is almost relieved to go. Plagued by a dangerous power she can't control, at least she knows that in the Wilderwood, she can't hurt those she loves. Again.

But the legends lie. The Wolf is a man, not a monster. Her magic is a calling, not a curse. And if she doesn't learn how to use it, the monsters the gods have become will swallow the Wilderwood-and her world-whole.

The author has provided a list of content warnings here.

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Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca

Publication date: June 1st, 2021
Links: Amazon | Goodreads

Sadomasochism. Obsession. Death.

A whirlpool of darkness churns at the heart of a macabre ballet between two lonely young women in an internet chat room in the early 2000s—a darkness that threatens to forever transform them once they finally succumb to their most horrific desires.

What have you done today to deserve your eyes?

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Malignant Summer by Tim Meyer 

Publication date: June 1st, 2021

Links: Amazon | Goodreads

It’s 1998 in Hooperstown, New Jersey and people are getting sick. Some citizens blame the local chemical plant. A select few believe something far more terrifying is responsible, a dreadful force that causes nightmarish visions and aberrant illnesses. Bad things are blooming in Hooperstown, and the stench of death is growing stronger...

Standing on the edge of summer break after the longest last day of eighth grade ever, Doug Simms and his two best friends join a group of older kids for an all-night scavenger hunt. It’s supposed to be a celebration, an evening of fun and freedom. But what happens that night will change their summer in the darkest ways imaginable. And not just their summer...but their entire lives.

MALIGNANT SUMMER is a coming-of-age epic where innocence is lost and the path through adolescence is painful. Where dreamscapes merge with reality. Where love seems possible, and the best season feels like it can last forever.

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City of the Creeps by Ernie Kaltenbrunner, Jr.

Publication date: June 3rd, 2021

Links: Amazon | Goodreads

The Crazies meets Day of the Dead, molded for a modern readership.
The virus is smart, learning as it goes, and finding opportunities to thrive.
People are changing. They’re quiet. They’re spacey. They’re harboring something foreign and looking mingle…People are biting. People are chasing. People are spreading a virus that turns even the most civilized into a creature of violence.
Can a small group of survivors make it through the day, will they survive the night?
Survive unscathed? No.
Survive unchanged? No.
Survive uncontaminated? Maybe.

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Queen of the Cicadas by V. Castro

Publication date: June 22nd, 2021

Links: Amazon | Goodreads

2018: Belinda Alvarez has returned to Texas for the wedding of her best friend Veronica. The farm is the site of the urban legend, La Reina de Las Chicharras - The Queen of The Cicadas.

In 1950s south Texas a farmworker—Milagros from San Luis Potosi, Mexico—is murdered. Her death is ignored by the town, but not the Aztec goddess of death, Mictecacíhuatl. The goddess hears the dying cries of Milagros and creates a plan for both to be physically reborn by feeding on vengeance and worship.

Belinda and the new owner of the farmhouse, Hector, find themselves immersed in the legend and realize it is part of their fate as well.

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Moon Lake by Joe R. Lansdale 

Publication date: June 22nd, 2021
Links: Goodreads

Daniel Russell was only thirteen years old when his father tried to kill them both by driving their car into Moon Lake. Miraculously surviving the crash—and growing into adulthood—Daniel returns to the site of this traumatic incident in the hopes of recovering his father's car and bones. As he attempts to finally put to rest the memories that have plagued him for years, he discovers something even more shocking among the wreckage—a twenty-year-old relic that has ties to a twisted web of dark deeds, old grudges, and strange murders.

As Daniel diligently follows where the mysterious trail of vengeance leads, he unveils the heroic revelation at its core.

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Camp Neverland by Lisa Quigley 

Publication date: June 24th, 2021

Links: Amazon | Goodreads

Camp Neverland is special. At least that's what it said on the mysterious brochure. But when Max arrives to discover her tormentor Chuck Snyder is there, too, her hopes for a magical summer are dashed. Still, the bond she develops with her cabinmates feels almost too good to be true. And when kids start dying in gruesome ways, Max hides a frightening secret. She soon learns just how far she'll go to belong.

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Publication Date: April 9, 2021
Links: Amazon | Goodreads

More than 20 years after her abduction at the hands of the elusive Pan, Wendy Darling is all grown up and a successful detective. But when a local girl vanishes in the middle of the night, her past comes rushing back.

Grieving the death of her mother, Detective Darling wants nothing more than to throw herself back into work. When the Lord Mayor’s daughter, Rosalie, vanishes, she insists on taking the case, triggering memories of her own past abduction. For years, Wendy struggled with her nonsensical memories of her captor, who she only knows as Pan. Yet the more she uncovers about Rosalie’s disappearance, the more Wendy is convinced her worst nightmare has come true—Pan’s back. Her fears are confirmed when the girl suddenly reappears and Wendy realises she’s walked straight into Pan’s trap…

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Navigating the world of social media 

by liz butcher

As an author, I found myself inherently bound to a multitude of social media platforms. It’s a necessary evil in the world of the indie author and can often feel like you’re tumbling down the rabbit hole a ’la Alice in Wonderland. Start talking about algorithms and click rates and my eyes glaze over—terrible, I know! I don’t pretend to know why one person’s post my garner hundreds of ‘likes’ and another only a handful—I unfortunately lack the savvy knack so many other authors possess. Yet there is a silver lining to the world of social media, and that is the vast number of authors and readers. The writing and reading communities are amazing across all platforms and all of my writer friends are ones I’m made through social media. Most I’ve learned about the do’s and don’ts of self-publishing have come from these talented people sharing their own experiences and knowledge, and in turn, I like to pay it forward. 

I thought that when Tiktok arrived I would draw the line and I said I would never join, but low and behold there I am and I have to say this is so far my favourite way of connecting with other writers and readers. Getting to know the myriad of authors across all genres has not only helped me grow as a writer but taught me so much about the importance of championing each other and celebrating the successes of my talented writer friends. As an author I also appreciate the importance of highlighting those books which I enjoy and sharing the love on social media and in turn, it’s so thrilling when you find readers giving your own work a shout out! So as daunting as it can all be once you find your feet, there is an endless and enjoyable source of knowledge and connections within the world of social media.

OTHER WORKS BY LIZ BUTCHER: 

Camille’s father just inherited the family manor from his estranged uncle, forcing her to leave her friends and city life just before her senior year of high school for the small town of Woodville, England. After seeing a strange old woman lurking on the estate grounds, she embarks on a mission to uncover the history of her new home.

What she finds is wilder than she could have imagined—the murder of her ancestor, Caleb LeRoux, on the same day his six-year-old daughter vanished without a trace. And an unforeseen connection to Camille herself, as the only female LeRoux born to the family in over two hundred years. With the help of her new school friends, Camille delves into the secrets of the manor, uncovering an all-encompassing truth that will change the entire course of her life—past, present, and future.

The last thing Jonah Sands expected on his thirtieth birthday was to have his life thrust into the hands of a dangerous, red-haired woman—or to be the only person in the world to survive an encounter with her.

As the death toll skyrockets, Jonah and his two best friends, the siblings Tristan and Ava Carter, find themselves at the epicentre of inexplicable phenomena—a stranded ferry transforms into a barge headed for the Underworld; young girls levitate to whisper ancient riddles; technology across the globe is controlled by some unseen hand. And it all seems to lead back to the woman with red hair. When a stranger finds them in the midst of a thunderstorm and offers his otherworldly assistance, Jonah finally unravels the truth about who he really is. And what it means for the rest of humanity.

PRAISE FOR LIZ BUTCHER 

“What really sticks out from the very first chapter is just how fast the author takes  readers into the action and mystery of this story.” Anthony Avina, Top Book Reviewer  Book Sirens 

“Readers will love the larger-than-life characters, mayhem, and magic. I heartily recommend this book and urge you all to grab yourselves a copy if this is your type of story. Or even if it’s not!” Reads and Reels 

“This is one impressive debut from an obviously gifted artist who knows how to blend human drama with metaphysical fantasy and mythology to create a splendidly unique novel with visceral force. Very highly recommended.” Grady Harp, Top Shelf Magazine

Liz Butcher resides in Australia, with her husband, daughter, and their two cats. She’s a self-confessed nerd with a BA in psychology and an insatiable fascination for learning. Liz was previously the former Executive Assistant at the Horror Tree, which is a mainstream resource for authors and has published a number of short stories in anthologies including her own collection, After Dark, in 2018. Fates Fury was her debut novel and LeRoux Manor, her stunning new novel set for release, September,  2020.  

More information can be found about Liz at her website:  

https://www.lizbutcher.com.au/