Selah Janel's Blog

How about another new book? As longtime readers know, I kinda like writing vampires. It’s a genre that’s fascinated me for a long time, so when I was offered the chance to be included in an anthology all about them, how could I not sink my teeth in? My own offering is a personal essay on writing vampires and how characterization needs to be taken away from good vs. evil defaults, but the book is full of enough stories, lists, and other explorations of the genre to get your blood pumping.

Vampire Musings

Join 16 vampire fans and writers from around the world for their musings on vampire music, movies, fun facts, and even mesmerizing short stories. This book will make you feel like you are in a room with friends discussing the various vampires that each of you love spanning from aristocratic vampires, to primal monsters, to the Twilight vamps. So, sit down in your comfy chair, turn on the vampire music provided in this book, pick up that Bloody Mary, and escape to a world full of vampires.

There is a recount of the life of Anne Rice, reviews of books, movies, and television shows, a look at vampires as religious figures, romantic stories, and traditional stories of the vampire.

Each of these stories holds intrigue for fans of creatures of the night.

Contributors include: Audrey A’Cladh, Azurdee Garland, Bitten Twice, Bertena Varney, Carrie Rogers, Isabella Gibbons, Jacqueline Gibbons, Kathryne LeFevre, Kyle Germann, Mary Jackson, Matthew Banks, Phaedra Walker, Roxanne Rhoads, Selah Janel, Simon Bacon, and Stavros Cockrell.

These contributors range from a 12-year-old actress, to college professors, librarians, paranormal romance authors, and even those that live the life of a vampire.

The cover art was created by Stavros while showcasing the model Xamie wearing fangs from Kaos Kustom Fangs, LLC. The model is both alluring but dangerous. She is a great representation of the book and the various stories that are told within.

Amazon https://amzn.to/3aIUIHh
Amazon https://amzn.to/3meXFC3
Other eBook outlets https://books2read.com/u/4jg5lZ

#VampireMusings #Vampires #VampireFiction #DiscussingVampires #LetsTalkVampires #Fangs #VampireLore #VampireFiction #VampireMovies #VampireMusic

We’re back today with an interview with one of the authors in Horror Addicts Guide to Life 2! I had the pleasure to interview R.L. Merrill, so let’s get to it and see what she has to say about horror, writing, and her work!

What’s your favorite part of the horror genre (or favorite subgenre)? What about it draws you in and makes you crave more?

My favorite horror stories focus on the underdog, the misunderstood. Frankenstein was a favorite book, but I love the movie even more. I love stories that give power to the ones that were considered weaker. Stranger Things has been fantastic with that and I’ve also loved Mike Flanagan’s series on Netflix.  Cabal by Clive Barker, and the film version, Nightbreed. I love stories set in haunted spaces, especially true stories like A Haunted Love Story by Mark Spencer and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way To Heaven by Corey Taylor. Last but certainly not least, I’m a sucker for vampires…I love them all.

On the flip side, what, if anything, about horror leaves you cold?

Torture porn. Can’t do it. I also can’t do tight spaces. The Descent was one of the scariest films because of the whole terrifying premise of crawling in somewhere and never getting out. I struggle with zombies too. The idea of being torn apart slowly? Watching? Feeling it all happen. Nope! Funny zombies are okay. The Dead Don’t Die was one of my faves as well as Shawn of the Dead.

What’s your current favorite horror book or movie?

I haven’t read much horror lately, but I’ve watched a lot. I’ve been on a monster romance kick with my reading, though. In dark times, I need the hope of romance, and that’s been a nice combination. I’ve watched a ton of movies though. Some of my recent favorites have been: The Boys From County Hell, Antlers was good, The Deeper You Dig from the Adams Family was creepy, and I’m a huge fan of Shudder. The Mortuary Collection was surprisingly good and Host was freaking brilliant!

If you had to be trapped in one horror franchise as the villain/slasher/misunderstood paranormal entity, which would you choose and why?

Easy. I’d be a Mayfair Witch. Or a vampire in the Sookie Stackhouse series.

If your muse had a physical manifestation, what would it look like and how would it act? Would they have any specific habits or catch phrases?

My muse would be a tiny 13-year-old boy sitting on my shoulder making everything into  innuendo, tempting me to add dick jokes to all of my WIPs, and constantly asking for snacks.

Do you have any horror/scary movies that freaked you out as a kid that still haunt you?

The Trilogy of Terror with Karen Black. The warrior doll. OMG I still have nightmares.

If you had to be one thing for every Halloween for the rest of your life, what would you be?

I’d be a witch, naturally, because it ain’t too far from the truth. But I’d be the fun witch who makes all of the neighborhood kids happy like Santa does for Christmas. Wait, I do that already. I’m all set!

What is the book or story you have to write still?

Oh, I’ve got a queer western horror story that is poking me constantly to be told.

Is there a horror book/story (or any book/story) that you use as a goalpost for your work? Was it an inspiration or something you want to stay away from?

I’d LOVE to write a world like The Mayfair Witches. The family backstory. The intricacy. That feeling of discovering your purpose and place just when you seemed to be doomed to spend your life unfulfilled and alone. Anne Rice inspired me from the moment I picked up Interview With the Vampire back in 1988, but it was The Witching Hour that sucked me in and made me want to do more, to be more. As a kid I loved the movie The Legacy with Katherine Ross and Sam Elliot. I always dreamed about someone picking me out as being something special and leaving me some supernatural legacy. Cool, right?

What horror creature is the best and why?

I love Frankenstein’s monster, but vampires are so damned sexy. All that power, and yet the constant yearning…the thirst. So many places you can go with vampires. I love stories of redemption and vampires are well suited to that trope. I’ve written funny vampires, but my first serious attempt at adding something meaningful to the vampire lore comes out in September and I’m terrified and titillated!

Do ideas for stories come to you in your daily life? What’s the weirdest place where you suddenly had a gruesome or ‘terrible’ idea for a horror story?

Most recently I had an idea while on a swamp tour in Louisiana. Our guide was wonderful and had a special gift for communing for the Bayou animals…including the alligators. Like, he was feeding them marshmallows on sticks. Then, he lay on the bow of the boat and pulled one up…AND KISSED IT. Then he brought one up on the boat, and I thought, “we have no cell service, he’s taken us to ‘spots the other guides don’t go,’ so if one of these gators decide they’re tired of being toyed with…how would we get back? No one was around for miles. It was a bit terrifying. And exciting to think of the possibilities if it were dusk, and a storm was coming in… This happens a lot. One night I was stuck in traffic on a busy canyon road bringing my daughter home from horse riding lessons and I thought, “huh…what if zombies came crawling out of the creek and the bushes and attacked us while we’re just sitting here?” You never know what creepy shit I’m going to come up with!

What’s the book/story of yours that’s closest to your heart? What about it makes it a piece of your heart over others?

I did a collaboration with two of my best writing pals called The Banes of Lake’s Crossing. It’s a story about four brothers from Utah Territory who went below ground in 1860 to dig for silver and came across something powerful and disturbing beneath the surface that changed them forever. It’s sort of an alternate history of the formation of Reno, Nevada, and it allowed me to play with dark urges and how they impact a pure soul. I’m a history major and I love the post-Civil War time period in America. Born and raised in California, I was fascinated by the people who came here with nothing to search of wealth and a new way of life. My friends and I created the world together and we each wrote a story set in the world. I’ve loved that world so much, and I haven’t stopped dreaming up new possibilities for the storyline. I wrote a follow-up novella featuring one of the four brothers the following year, and then I wrote a novella but I’d been sitting on it for a while as the project was delayed. No more…I’m releasing my third book set in the world July 1. It’s called The Absolution of Jonah Bane and I hope readers of the original story will love it as much as I do.

What do you want readers to know about you?

I’m truly a Horror Addict at heart. Friday the 13ths are my favorite days. I’ve loved scary stories since childhood. My sister and I used to make them up to tell over the campfire each summer. I stayed up way too many nights watching horror flicks with my dad. I’m a huge music fan and my favorites tend to cross over to the dark side. Halloween should be a national holiday. Evil Dead II, Fright Night, and Rocky Horror are all required watching in my house. Even when I’m writing contemporary romance, my characters are often horror fans and I love to drop horror pop culture references into my stories.

Where can readers find out more about you and your work?

You can find me on my website at www.rlmerrillauthor.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/rlmerrillauthor as well as my reader group Ro’s Roadies of Romance, where you can join me for Freaky Fridays where I talk about creepy stuff as well as using the most sophisticated form of divination known to 80s kids: The Magic 8 Ball. I’m also on Twitter and Instagram @rlmerrillauthor. Wherever you lurk, come find me! I love connecting with fellow Horror Addicts! Stay Tuned for more…

***

Huge thanks to R.L. Merrill for the interview! Be sure to check out her work, and definitely check out Horror Addicts Guide to Life 2!

I’m back with more fun stuff from Horror Addict’s Guide to Life 2 today! If you know me, you know that I appreciate a fun craft, especially if it makes use of something I don’t have to go out and buy. This time, I have an excerpt from Kristin Batestella. She’s going to show us how to make a fun and creepy craft made even better by the fact that it features a chance to recycle old materials into something new!

Yo-Ghost Candlesticks

by Kristin Battestella

Does your family love those on-the-go drinkable yogurts? Do you purchase bulk six or eight packs weekly only to rinse and toss the bottles in the recycling bin without a second thought to your penchant for Horror décor?

The Bottle Called to Me

One day, the label was partially peeling off my drinkable yogurt, so I pulled it off all the way, as you do. Suddenly, it wasn’t a convenient snack anymore but a blank white slate. I saved it for a spooky bottle project—see March’s “Tea Stained Labels” craft. 

I Recycled Foam Leftovers

After using pre-cut foam letters on my cardboard tombstone project, there were a lot of filler pieces left over like the inside of the O, triangles within the A, pop-outs from Ps, Bs, and Rs. Rather than seeing these little black stickers as trash, my Horror brain saw the inner O as an open, gasping mouth. Eureka! Those little throwaway pieces could be the faces for ghostly white yogurt bottles.

Recycling = Craft

I chugged down some more yogurt just to save the bottles, sticking the letter bits on the plain white surface. Varying the eye shapes and the angles of the O mouths looked cute, but trying some other shapes for the mouths didn’t look right and it was nice to leave them matching in some way. What then was I to do with a bottle that looks like a ghost? I don’t have any white décor, and even painted the dollar shop battery candles from a stark white to a more aged, cream color…

Reuse, Recycle, Reclaim

Since they are marketed as a purely Halloween item, I buy up all the battery candles once they arrive at the dollar shop in the fall. I told the checkout lady I used them all year and all over my house, which I guess might be strange if I was stocking up on the ones that have the red blood drips on them. The plain white ones, however, come in a removable black base and are perfect for sitting in the window sill as well as candelabras or sconces where drafts or smoke detectors are impractical for real candles. Putting the candles inside the ghost bottles didn’t work, nor did sitting them on top with the cap removed, but putting the black base on top of the cap fit perfectly! Now, I had a use for my ghost bottles as ghost candlesticks!

Add a Little Rustic Charm

Lo, though they still seemed incomplete. A candle stuck on top of a bottle, big deal. I thought I could wrap some twine around the base to create something rustic just like the Halloween décor you see in the store. Ironically, wrapping the connection in plain old dollar shop twine was one of the most difficult and time-consuming tasks in all of my Kbatz Krafts. Rather than gluing one end to wrap, wrap, and glue the other end, the curved base forced me to glue as I went, wrapping more than one area numerous times for full coverage. I even cut and glued in pieces for extra layers. I’m pleased with the result, but what I expected to take an hour took an entire evening, a lot of glue sticks, and somehow a bit of back pain.

Cute and rustic aren’t really my style, however, I had the materials to make something fun and went where the spooky appeal took me. It’s tough for Horror Addicts to find some of the décor we like, and if then only around Halloween. By necessity, we should look at generic objects in a potentially unique way. These yogurt bottles could be painted orange with pumpkin faces, used as a fall vase, or painted green for monsters with fun objects on top. Kids can learn about recycling by saving their own bottles for a personalized craft—so long as adults handle the tedious twine gluing!

To read more craft how to’s, go to: https:/www.amazon.com/dp/B09YNF5QM3

And be sure to check out Kristin and her work here!

Do you love the horror genre? Do you look at horror as a lifestyle? Do the “norms” not understand your love of the macabre? Despair no longer, my friend, for within your grasp is a book written by those who look at horror as a way of life, just like you. This is your guide to living a horror addict’s life.

Our month-by-month almanac with important dates, movie lists, puzzles, crafts, articles, and recipes will guarantee your whole year is occupied with delightful horror activities. Don’t miss our monster guide with articles about vampires, zombies, ghosts, and some creatures that just can’t be categorized. Enjoy interviews with creators of horror content and hear perspectives from different cultures and backgrounds. Read stories of real hauntings, nightmares, and vile vacations.

Allow us to curate your horror lifestyle.

With articles by: A. Craig Newman, A.D. Vick, Alyson Faye, Angela Yuriko Smith, Brian McKinley, CM Lucas, Camellia Rains, Carrie Sessarego, Chantal Boudreau, Courtney Mroch, Crystal Connor, D.J. Pitsiladis, Dan Shaurette, Daphne Strasert, Dee Blake, Emerian Rich, Geneve Flynn, H.E. Roulo, H.R. Boldwood, J. Malcolm Stewart, James Goodridge, Jaq D Hawkins, Jeff Carroll, Jonathan Fortin, Kate Nox, Kay Tracy, Kerry Alan Denney, Kieran Judge, Kristin Battestella, Ksenia Murray, Lee Murray, Lionel Ray Green, Loren Rhoads, M.D. Neu, Mark Orr, Martha J. Allard, Michael Fassbender, Mimielle, Naching T. Kassa, Pamela K. Kinney, Priscilla Bettis, R.J. Joseph, R.L. Merrill, Rena Mason, Renata Pavrey, Rhonda R. Carpenter, Russell Holbrook, Selah Janel, Steven P. Unger, Sumiko Saulson, Tabitha Thompson, Theresa Braun, Trinity Adler, Valjeanne Jeffers.

Available now at: Amazon.com

Today I’m excited to share an excerpt from my piece in Horror Addicts Guide to Life 2! This book is full of so many fun activities, insightful articles, and explorations of the genre. I’m thrilled to be included! Beyond my writing experience, it’s somewhat known that I spent many years working on haunted events. I started as a performer, and grew into designing and building costumes, as well as being on the crew who conceptualized some attractions. While my costumes background includes regional theater, opera, various events, puppets, mascot-style suits, and a whole lot of stage shows, I tend to lean into the weird. It’s fun, it’s challenging, and it’s something not everyone can (or likes to do). I’ve expanded the original blog post this is based on to share experiences from my professional and personal work for the book. Check out the excerpt, then pick up the book!

Sewing the Strange

by Selah Janel

I’ve always loved making stuff, and I’m lucky that’s translated into a career for me. I’ve done a lot of different types of costume work through the years including theatre, opera, event work, amusement park shows and characters, business commissions, photo shoots, wardrobe, stitching, designing, and consulting. I love a challenge, but I also have noticed that although I can do a bit of everything, I really thrive when it comes to weird projects.

I don’t know if it’s that I’m just more open to it or if I’ve learned I get more opportunities by limiting myself to pretty dresses or historical stuff. I’m not a costume snob by any means, and I suppose this eventually turned into me creating strange pseudo-stuffed animal creatures, circus freaks, a menagerie of bizarre, roaming creatures, and rocker-goth fairy tale wolves on stilts.

Welcome to my world.

I’ve done a lot of haunted events and a lot of the experimentation that comes from working on a budget has led to making myself a lot of offbeat items through the years. It’s one of those things I do because I can and it’s fun to bring out during the holidays when the family asks what I’ve been up to.

So, what do I make when I’m bored and want to break out of the mold? Well, just remember, you asked!

A few years ago, I built a Renaissance-ish dress that had a bodice and arm garters made from mask latex over fabric to simulate human skin—for that girly touch. Since then, I’ve been experimenting with the technique and all the questions that it brought about. When to paint, at what stage to sew, how to add on parts and get texture? Since I don’t necessarily need a closet full of Leatherface’s family-friendly clothing line, I’ve mostly limited myself to accessories. I tend to use these when I’m going to cons, sitting on Horror panels, or want an interesting trip to the grocery store.

***

Check out my post on my horror inspirations on HorrorAddicts.net!

Follow along the promotional tour with the event calendar!

Do you love the horror genre? Do you look at horror as a lifestyle? Do the “norms” not understand your love of the macabre? Despair no longer, my friend, for within your grasp is a book written by those who look at horror as a way of life, just like you. This is your guide to living a horror addict’s life.

Our month-by-month almanac with important dates, movie lists, puzzles, crafts, articles, and recipes will guarantee your whole year is occupied with delightful horror activities. Don’t miss our monster guide with articles about vampires, zombies, ghosts, and some creatures that just can’t be categorized. Enjoy interviews with creators of horror content and hear perspectives from different cultures and backgrounds. Read stories of real hauntings, nightmares, and vile vacations.

Allow us to curate your horror lifestyle.

With articles by: A. Craig Newman, A.D. Vick, Alyson Faye, Angela Yuriko Smith, Brian McKinley, CM Lucas, Camellia Rains, Carrie Sessarego, Chantal Boudreau, Courtney Mroch, Crystal Connor, D.J. Pitsiladis, Dan Shaurette, Daphne Strasert, Dee Blake, Emerian Rich, Geneve Flynn, H.E. Roulo, H.R. Boldwood, J. Malcolm Stewart, James Goodridge, Jaq D Hawkins, Jeff Carroll, Jonathan Fortin, Kate Nox, Kay Tracy, Kerry Alan Denney, Kieran Judge, Kristin Battestella, Ksenia Murray, Lee Murray, Lionel Ray Green, Loren Rhoads, M.D. Neu, Mark Orr, Martha J. Allard, Michael Fassbender, Mimielle, Naching T. Kassa, Pamela K. Kinney, Priscilla Bettis, R.J. Joseph, R.L. Merrill, Rena Mason, Renata Pavrey, Rhonda R. Carpenter, Russell Holbrook, Selah Janel, Steven P. Unger, Sumiko Saulson, Tabitha Thompson, Theresa Braun, Trinity Adler, Valjeanne Jeffers.

Available now at: Amazon.com

So it’s been a hot minute, and there’s a lot to catch up on. Today, though I want to share my most recent project. We all know that while I have range, I like to get weird. Thankfully, there’s a lot of like-minded people out there. Want Halloween all year round? Of course you do! Now, you can feed that need with a new book from the amazing crew at HorrorAddicts.net! I’ve been on their blog, I’ve been on their podcast, they’ve liked me enough to award my story Wallpaper their Best of Blood award a few years ago. Now, I’m in one of their books! I’ll be talking about my contribution tomorrow, but in the mean time, check it out!

Get it on Amazon!

One of my favorite parts of being an author is connecting with so many amazing, diverse individuals. A lot of people assume that networking is only about getting yourself to the next level, but if you’re focused only on that you miss a lot of amazing people and lessons along the way. It’s important to learn from others’ experiences and processes, and there are so many incredible people in the horror genre. I’m thrilled to have Lisa Vasquez here today – she’s done so much work in the horror community, and has awesome insight into the genre. Seriously, she’s worn so many hats and worked on so many things, it’s kind of unreal. She’s here to share some writing tips with us today, so be sure to take it all in!

Lisa Vasquez

One of the most common posts I do are writing tips. For many writers, especially new ones, finding the “sweet spot” is like riding a high.

If you’re serious about writing you will always look for ways to improve. As a mentor, my job is to always look for ways to help. Each of us learns in a different way, therefore it stands to reason there’s not one “correct” way to write. Offering options is the perfect way to keep my authors engaged, keep them excited, and to keep them producing new adventures.

My first tip is one that you’ve seen and heard a million times.

#1 Write Every Day

If you are not practicing, you cannot get better. If a world class piano player stopped playing the piano for months at a time a seasoned music connoisseur can pick up the variations in quality right away. What we also should remember is our bodies are some of the most amazing machines and learn through muscle memory. If you are always writing, you can fall into a plateau, and if you do not write for a long time, your body will need to readapt.

How many words should you write a day? Well, there is a debate about how many words you should write but it also depends on what your goals are. Are you a serious writer who dedicates hours to writing? Or are you someone who has a day job and family, who may write when they can set aside time (more on this later)?

If you are a serious writer who wants to make their living from wordsmithing-my opinion is-you need to write a minimum of 500-1000 words a day. Most articles for news or magazines run about this long. You can pump out a short story in three days if you write 1000 words a day. As Stephen King says, if you write 500 words a day in a year, you’ll have a novel.

#Keep a Journal

A journal is a great way to keep all your ideas in one place and guess what … it counts as writing. When you have a random idea, you should write it down. Write as many details as you can about the idea in the time allowed. Write it down as if you were telling your friend about it.

“I just had an idea. There were two girls sitting at a coffee shop discussing problems with their relationship. They met in an online writing group and became fast friends before they decided they would meet up and discuss writing a novel together. After an hour of coffee and a shared piece of pie, Girl A gets a call from her boyfriend. When Girl B sees his picture light up on the phone, she realizes the man is the same guy she’s been dating for the past year.”

Now, when you go back to this later you have the premise of the story, or an opening scene. Start with dialogue. You have an hour of them sitting there. What did they talk about? Now they discover they are dating the same person. How does Girl B react?

If you cannot write 500-1000 words about this, it’s time to go back to some fundamentals.

#Pantser or Planner?

I don’t care what anyone says, it doesn’t matter which type you are. If you are someone who likes to outline your whole book, it’s OK. If you are someone who likes to ride the emotions and trust your instincts, it is also OK.

Until it is not OK.

If you are not telling a good story, finding yourself in a rut, cutting out chapters at a time, or boring yourself, then you need to switch it up and try something new. I know. New is scary. Just do it.

There are many ways to plan without having to write down an outline. You can find a lot of those methods on some of my earlier blog posts, like WRITING: MAKE A PLAN where I show a method using circles called “sorting it out.”

If you are a visual person, sketch out a scene or main character. I like to look at different artwork and get my imagination riled up before I write. You must find what works for you and what type of writer you are. Not only is your voice important, so is your instrument: your brain.

#Let It Be

No, I don’t mean the song. Wait, yes, I do. When you finish writing a good scene, stop for a little bit. Let your brain catch up and process it. Walk away from the computer or your notebook and do something else if you are too tempted to keep going. Sometimes, after I write an intense scene, I will go make myself a cup of tea. The time it takes for the kettle to boil and the tea to steep is just enough time for me to take in a deep breath of the herbal aroma and put all the pieces together.

I ask a few questions:

“How would the main character in this scene respond?”

“Is this a believable reaction/action?”

“If I was watching this in a movie, would I have doubts or questions?”

“How can I make this better?”

Now, I go back to my writing and re-read the scene. I may continue with the next scene, I may go back and fix something, I may add/subtract something. The point is every word must have a place there. It must serve a purpose to the story. You are leaving breadcrumbs along a vivid path from the start to the finish.

#Read Everything, Live Life

While it is important to know your genre, good stories are about experiences. You must try to live your life and have as many experiences as you can even if the only experience you have for the day is going outside and running your hand along the fence, grass, car. Think it sounds weird? Well, it is. It is also a scientific fact. Your brain learns from all five of your senses. Stimulate them with something different than your everyday norm.

You should also read from different genres. Non-fiction, fantasy, science fiction, etc. Stepping outside of your own box (coffin) is a way to open new doorways of your imagination. Learn different techniques by seeing and reading them firsthand. Do they work for you? If not, why? Don’t believe me? Why do you think much of the horror community looks to Stephen King for tips on how to write? They picked up his book and read it. It works for them. The funniest part? Everything you need to know about how to write is already there.

#Seek out a Mentor

As much as this sounds self-serving, it is not the point of adding it here. As a mentor, I still have my own mentor. I never assume I know it all and I never assume I put every skill I have into action. I’m human (yeah, human. Let’s go with that.) and I am not flawless. Olympic competitors have coaches. They need someone to push them, to challenge them, and to be a guide. Writers are mental athletes and need a “coach” to do the same.

I hope these tips have helped you. I’m unconventional in my methods and find myself in a Mayagi and Daniel-son situation a lot. One thing I can say? Not every mentor is a good fit for you. Do your research.

Happy Writing.

In Darkness and Light,

The Unsaintly Queen
Lisa Vasquez
CEO Stitched Smile Publications
Editor-In-Chief House of Stitched Magazine
(www.stitchedsmilepublications.com)

Be sure to Check Lisa out in all the places she frequents!

The creepy is only over if you want it to be! I’m behind, I know, but I wanted to give some  focus to great titles I’ve come across lately. Another intriguing title that’s been brought to my attention is the Plague Master series.

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Meet the Characters of Plague Master

By H.E. Roulo

Part of the joy of reading is connecting with the characters. Each person seen the on the page is like someone we pass in real life. They need to have a history that is reflected in their culture, dress, speech, and hobbies. Small details tell what we don’t have time to otherwise convey. The connections between the characters are what define the story and allow them to come to life, sometimes surprising even the author in their loyalty and defiance.

Cast of Characters

Trevoris the main character. When we meet him he’s seventeen and desperate to save his world from the zombie outbreak. Untrained but eager, he volunteers to run into buildings in search of survivors or, sadly, to be zombie bait and lure the infected into the street for the mercenary soldiers. Despite his world’s troubles, he cares about those around him and has hopes his world can be made better. It isn’t luck that Trevor is the one to enter Kristin’s house.

Kristingoes to school with Trevor. She’s an artist whose family owns a gallery. When her family changes, she’s grateful to Trevor for intervening even if she does get infected in the process. Kristin knows it’s just a matter of time until she changes. The only silver-lining is that she gets to leave their world for the Sanctuary Dome. With a little conniving, she gets Trevor on the transport out.

While others are fighting the outbreak or suffering from the disease, Elenahas made her peace with being infected and lives like every day is her last. She’s surprised to find out Trevor isn’t infected, and shouldn’t be in the sanctuary, but it isn’t her nature to get him in trouble. Instead, she embroils him in her scheme to find out what happened to the brother of her good friend, Samantha.

Poor Samantha is in the sanctuary doing everything in her power to help scientists find a cure before she changes. She has children back home and a concerned brother, Howard. When he shows up unexpectedly to do an exposé on the Sanctuary, Samantha is shocked. She placed all her faith in getting cured. When he goes missing, she is the first to seek answers.

It’s only out of concern that Howard decides to report on suspicious rumors about the sanctuary where Samantha has been exiled.  He doesn’t expect to find conspiracy, experiments, and murder. Poor Howard will never be the same.

Mengus was the first to investigate and invest in the poisonous world that would become a safe haven for the infected. The dome that protects them until they change is a nice touch, but he isn’t even very surprised when the dome breaks and those who have already changed flood in. What surprises him more is the reporter, the uninfected boy, and the cure.

Visit Amazon to purchase Plague Master: Sanctuary Dome,the first book of the Plague Master series, followed by Plague Master: Rebel Infection.

PRAISE FOR

PLAGUE MASTER: SANCTUARY DOME

“A perfect mix of classic sci-fi and zombie horror. Once you start, you are hooked!”

-Jake Bible, author of Little Dead Man.

“Sanctuary Domeis fast-paced zombie sci-fi on a prison planet of the dying and the undead.”

-Stephen North, author of Beneath the Mask

It’s been a hot minute, but I wanted to share something special with you, since it’s the season and all that! Not everything this month has to be completely creepy, after all…

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Falling in love is scary,

especially in these four witty,

otherworldly tales from Meant to Be Press

An anthology of otherworldly love stories from Meant to Be Press authors.

Meant to Be…SPOOKED

Available now on Amazon.

“Parsers and Prejudice” by Emmy Z. Madrigal

Sometimes digital love is all you got.

In a future world, where men are all but extinct, Laney falls in love with her only companion, a male android built to meet her every need. But when a deadly virus sweeps the bot population, she must do everything she can to save the bot she loves.

“Cursed by Cupid” by Naching T. Kassa

Nothing is scarier than love.

Jane Sanders is a professional matchmaker and her new client is to die for. Henry Roberts is a handsome and charming Englishman, someone every woman would want. There’s just one problem. Henry is also ghost, cursed to appear as each woman’s nightmare. Can Jane aid him in his hunt for true love? Or will she experience her first failure and condemn his soul to hell forever?

“The Phone Booth” by M.M. Genet

What would you give for one last chance?

What would you give to talk one last time to someone you lost? Would you give up your savings, your house or car? How about your best friend or a member of your family? After a tornado hits their small town, the names of the missing gradually become the names of the dead. A haunted phone booth might give Ahi one last chance to call his missing girlfriend.

“Cordial Foe” by H.E. Roulo

Magic isn’t found, it’s made

If not for the magic embroidered into her tattoos, Cherry would already be dead. Isaac’s life revolves around duty and protection, so he hardly has time for the rockabilly woman bringing chaos to his mountain. Sometimes, a little chaos is a wake-up call. Too bad what Cherry wants is at odds with what Isaac has to give. His secrets might be worse than hers.

https://youtu.be/A1EFKaGXA4w

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if the only way to speak to your loved ones was through a supernatural phone booth?

What would you give to talk one last time to someone you lost? Would you give up your savings, your house or car? How about your best friend or a member of your family? After a tornado hits their small town, the names of the missing gradually become the names of the dead. A haunted phone booth might give Ahi one last chance to call his missing girlfriend.

Check out this excerpt for a taste of what “The Phone Booth” has to offer.

by M.M. Genet

“You want more than a token of my love for her. You want me to show you how much I’m going to miss her, like everyone in the Cornflower Diner is missing you? That’s the price you want me to pay? I can pay it. Right here. Right now.” He held the small box it in his hand.

Frank stepped back. He flashed Emily an unearthly look of sympathy. The members of the spirit barrier looked to one another and then to the small box in Ahi’s hand.

Margo’s misty form dissipated into nothingness. Galileo gasped. All of the air flew out of Ahi’s lungs. He dropped to his knees and sobbed. He gasped for air reflexively as he clutched the box to his heart.

As he exhaled, his breath hit the freezing air. His breath became a familiar pair of delicate hands. His tears fell to the cold, rich soil and from them, the shoes Margo had hand painted on a rainy day in September became her feet. Galileo jumped around the two feet and meowed madly. Daring to hope, Ahi exhaled a hopeful mix of crying and laughter and Margo’s silhouette took shape. When he whispered her name, his soft breath formed her gentle eyes and the outline of her face.

He was so afraid to touch her, yet more afraid not to. It was his last chance. Unable to restrain all the love he had for her, he wiped away his tears and with the same fingertips, he touched her face. Her smile came to match his and the two laughed.

Ever aware of the death surrounding them and the ticking away of the minutes, Ahi bent down on one knee.

“Do you remember when I was ten and I’d run away from home for like the hundredth time and you came to my tent just past the tree line of Hanson’s farm?”

Margo’s face contorted with bittersweet memories. The throng of ghosts, with their pent up loss, grief, and rage hovered over them, pressing them.

“Right. Well, you came and found me. You brought me a peanut butter sandwich and emptied your jacket pockets of apples you’d swiped along the way. While I ate, you decorated my tent with daisy chains and hung them with clothes pins from your mom’s laundry bag under the sink.” He gulped and opened the box. An old, pawnshop ring, the shape of a daisy with a yellow stone in the center and five white stones around it, shined up at Margo despite the all-consuming darkness. “I know now, you were right. You have to leave and go away for a while so you can come back and take me away from this town.” His throat clenched with the agony of knowing that time would be far longer than he’d ever planned. “Will you, someday, marry me and make me the happiest guy in the world?” he asked, despite tears collecting in his eyes. “Whichever world that may be.”

So yeah, some things have been going on. We’ll discuss that later, though.  For now, a taste of some of what I’ve been getting up to.

I’ve had a mutual appreciation with the gang at HorrorAddicts.Net for a while – I’ve blogged there, we’ve compared notes, and they’ve reviewed Mooner. This time, though, our collaboration was a little something different. My short story Wallpaper is part of their latest podcast episode – and for the moment it’s a piece that you’ll only find there! I listened to it tonight and I have to say, I’m really pleased with how it turned out. The whole show is a lot of fun and loads of horror appreciation, and my story cues up around the 41 minute mark. They do a great job introducing and reading it, and I think you’ll dig it, especially if you like cosmic horror that runs a little over-the-top and has a hand in interior decorating.

Also, as a fun tangent, just never ask me to say the word horror in real life because we learned the hard way that that is not one of my better life skills and my former voice and diction teacher would probably smack me so hard.

Episode 167 of the Horror Addicts podcast, featuring Wallpaper, can be found here!

AND they also have a great interview with me up on the blog! We talk acting, creativity, books, all my fave horror stuff, and some uh, interesting anecdotes from other work I’ve done.

That interview can be found here!

Check both out, leave a comment for all their hard work, and be sure to let me know what you think!

I bet you thought I forgot about you, didn’t you? Perish the thought!

I’ve got a special treat for you today, especially for those who like tech-inspired horror!

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EDITED BY:

DAN SHAURETTE

& EMERIAN RICH

STORIES BY:

H.E. ROULO, TIM O’NEAL, JERRY J. DAVIS, EMERIAN RICH, BILL DAVIDSON,

DANA HAMMER, NACHING T. KASSA, GARRETT ROWLAN, DAPHNE STRASERT

PHILLIP T. STEVENS, LAUREL ANNE HILL, CHANTAL BOUDREAU, GARTH VON BUCHHOLZ

Available now on Amazon!

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As technology takes over more of our lives, what will it mean to be human, and will we fear what we’ve created? What horrors will our technological hubris bring us in the future?

Join us as we walk the line between progressive convenience and the nightmares these advancements can breed. From faulty medical nanos and AI gone berserk to ghost-attracting audio-tech and one very ambitious Mow-Bot, we bring you tech horror that will keep you up at night. Will you reach the Kill Switch in time?

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A sneak peek inside…

13THMAGGOT

LAUREL ANNE HILL

I count the bioengineered maggots in the Petri dish. They glisten like bean threads wet with broth. Thirteen? What the fuck is going on? Yesterday, I inoculated this tissue culture plate with a dozen medical maggots. Tallied the larvae before and after placement onto this cozy bed of cells. Now, yesterday’s twelve little buggers add up wrong. I adjust the OptiVISOR on my head. Time to count again.

My inner tension presses the ball of my sore foot against the gel cushion in my shoe. Ouch! Damn splinter from my apartment’s shitty deck. Never go barefoot to water outdoor plants in the dark. I jiggle my headband magnifier, then shift my butt on the laboratory stool in front of my biosafety cabinet. This week, I’m totally responsible for the setup of the Project 12/Maggot Strain 39 experiments. One maggot, two, three… Please, don’t let this be a screw-up. I can’t afford one.

Eleven, twelve, and… Crap. Yesterday I accidentally added one larva too many to this container. No, the other forty-nine plates I set up yesterday were fine—like all the plates I’ve done during the past three months to test the safety of the bioengineered medical maggots. I took charge. I was careful. I can’t have messed up. My lips clamp together hard.

Flies lay eggs. Eggs hatch maggots. Maggots metamorphose into flies. Nowhere in that stupid life cycle do larval flies, even bioengineered ones, reproduce. Ever. Twelve maggots cannot suddenly become thirteen. I groan through my surgical mask.

Maggot Strain 39—my project—just became a top priority at Maggots are Medics. Nobody’s told me how that strain might clean wounds better than any other. What the shit am I supposed to do with my inconvenient observation?

I glance toward my electronic notebook on the adjacent lab stool. The blank square box near the bottom of the laptop’s screen awaits this morning’s final entry. Documentation of my maggot miscount will reveal only one truth to my employer. The counting skill of Assistant Scientist Christa Landers sucks.

“Undiscovered truths spring from the unexpected,” the voice of Dr. Camus lectures from the folds of my gray matter. I can almost see my former professor’s eyelids twitch. “Always record the exact results you observe.”

Easy enough for Camus to preach the rules for ethical and unbiased research. His position at U.C. Berkeley isn’t in jeopardy. But the rumor mill here claims my job at this company might be. My employer plans to reorganize the research department soon. Still, I try to be a good scientist. Since my junior year at U.C.—practically ages ago—I’ve never falsified a lab result.

My heart pumps in double time. Blood pounds at my temples like sticks hammering Taiko drums. Rent to pay…my student loan… I need to keep this job. One little data point won’t matter, will it?

I enter the number “12” in my lab notebook. What am I doing? I must correct this. But Dad died last year. Mom depends on the money I send her. I clench my stomach muscles and close the file.

“You still here?” co-worker Traci Reed calls from the adjoining gowning room, her voice as welcome as a bowl of sugar-coated spit. “I thought you’d forgotten to sign out again.”

Oh, great. Leave it to Ms. Perfection Reed to serve up trouble with a side order of sarcasm—just as she did in high school. I’ve got to help one of these maggots do a vanishing act, and fast. Which critter, though? The wiggler nearest the plate’s edge is fatter than the others, and at least a half-centimeter long. A definite outlier.

I pull a disposable lab-wipe from the dispenser box and set it in my lap. One gloved hand manipulates a tiny pair of tweezers and the other raises the Petri dish lid. With a single quick motion, I pluck the obese larva off the cell culture and deposit the insect onto the paper tissue. My nitrile-covered fingers wad the wipe and squish its contents. I reach for the small biohazard bucket in my biosafety workstation. Wait. Better to dispose of this somewhere it could never be accidentally discovered. Like the five-gallon receptacle near the door. Even better, the toilet?

“Everything okay?” Traci asks through her surgical mask as she enters the lab.

Crap, what should I do now? No way, while I’m sitting, to slip the tissue into a side pocket. I stuff the offending evidence down the Tyvek shoe cover on my nearest foot. Not in direct contact with my skin, of course.

“Everything’s fine,” I say. Mission accomplished.

Tracy shrugs. Today the pudgy strawberry blonde wears a pale yellow clean-room jumpsuit instead of the standard white the company provides.

“None of our inmates squirmed out of their dishes last night,” I say as I stand. Let Traci figure out if the maggots are cleaning up necrotic tissue without harming healthy cells. She’s the cell observation-and-testing specialist. “I’m done for the morning. Lab’s all yours.”

A tingle shoots across the arch of my injured foot, as if the squashed maggot has gone exploring. No chance of that. Maggot Number Thirteen is as dead as last year’s failed romance. I step toward the degowning room airlock. The ball of my left foot itches and stings. That stupid splinter has worked its way in deep.