The Green Jell-O Book Club: A Goodreads Group about Fiction Written by LDS Authors discussion

OK, I think I've read a grand total of two horror novels in the last ten years. So if anyone has recommendations, please add them. I've heard good things about books by Dan Wells, so if you like horror, that could be a good place to start.

Music scares me and just reading Jurassic Park years ago gave me nightmares for months...so I have no ideas on this genre.

I don't read this genre if I can help it! I did read one of Dan Wells' books and It really wasn't my thing!

New release:

Over Your Dead Body by Dan Wells

John and Brooke are on their own, hitchhiking from town to town as they hunt the last of the Withered through the midwest— but the Withered are hunting them back, and the FBI is close behind. With each new town, each new truck stop, each new highway, they get closer to a vicious killer who defies every principle of profiling and prediction John knows how to use, and meanwhile Brooke’s fractured psyche teeters on the edge of oblivion, overwhelmed by the hundreds of thousands of dead personalities sharing her mind. She flips in and out of lucidity, manifesting new names and thoughts and memories every day, until at last the one personality pops up that John never expected and has no idea how to deal with. The last of Nobody’s victims, trapped forever in the body of his last remaining friend.

Part of a series:

New Release:

Cold Slither: and other horrors of the weird west by David J. West

Porter Rockwell—Devil of a Saint.

Blessed by a holy man, Porter Rockwell was promised that if he never cut his hair—no bullet nor blade could harm him—but nobody mentioned all of the supernatural dangers he would run across.

Ride along with Porter and the brilliant damsels not-so-in-distress that lend a helping hand as he faces off against sorcery and desperadoes, myth and legend, demons and dark gods.

COLD SLITHER is a collection of weird western tales featuring Porter Rockwell. Spine-tingling horror and grim-dark humor go hand in hand with six-shooters in these adventures thru the old west.

New Release:

The Longest Con by Michaelbrent Collings

Larry Correia. Kevin J. Anderson. D.J. Butler. Orson Scott Card. Mercedes Yardley.

Would you like to know—I mean, REALLY know—what they’re doing when they go to those fancy comic-cons? Because it ain’t just writing.

See, every year, thousands of people attend comic-cons dressed as monsters.

Of course, you probably already knew that.

But did you ALSO know that… every year, thousands of MONSTERS attend comic-cons dressed as PEOPLE.

Sure. Nothing could POSSIBLY go wrong there.

Luckily, the con organizers have placed Wardens throughout the conventions. These undercover supernatural troubleshooters are tasked with stopping mayhem before it starts… or solving the murders after they happen.

I’M MICHAELBRENT COLLINGS: author of this book, and one of the Wardens. My job is to go to the cons, where I sell books, make fans, and kill the occasional monster.

It’s not just me, either. Those authors I told you about, and even more… you’d never guess what many of your favorite authors are REALLY up to at the conventions.

Luckily, though, you don’t have to guess.

JUST READ THIS BOOK.

And get ready to have… your… mind… BLOWN.*

* Disclaimer: your mind may or may not be blown.

New Release:

Six-Gun Serenade: A Porter Rockwell Adventure by David J. West

The song of the wild west is played with hot lead notes—and some folks gotta learn the hard way.

Schoolteacher Amasa Davison, is invited to join a prospecting outfit and assay gold for them. Turns out it’s really a bunch of desperadoes led by a conniving spiritualist who follows the whims of a ghostly Indian princess (so he says).

But when the rest of the bandits start to turn on each other deep in hostile Ute territory, who can a harmless schoolteacher trust? The greenhorn cook, the untested youthful quick draw or the quiet long-haired gunslinger with a killer’s cold eyes?

Contains two novellettes and an excerpt from the forthcoming Scavengers novel.

New Release:

SCAVENGERS: A Porter Rockwell Adventure by David J. West

An untouchable gunslinger. A lost hoard of gold. A host of brutal adversaries. What could possibly go wrong?

Deputy Marshal Porter Rockwell can’t be harmed by a bullet or a blade. As long as he never cuts his hair, Rockwell is free to right wrongs and chase criminals without worrying about the consequences. But when he learns about a map to a mysterious cache of gold, he’s embroiled in a battle for the treasure with enemies lining up on every side.

As outlaws, villains, and a surprisingly formidable Ute chieftain stand between the Deputy Marshall and the gold, bullet and blade might not be what finally take Rockwell down. It could be plain old bad luck…

New Release:

Crazy Horses: A Porter Rockwell Adventure by David J. West

A kidnapped girl. A desperate father. A murderous slaver bound for old Mexico. And a certain untouchable gunslinger. Things are going to get a lot worse before they get better.

Infamous gunslinger, Porter Rockwell made a blood oath with the Ute War Chief, Redbone, to help him no matter what. Now that the Chief’s daughter has been kidnapped by the desperado Matamoros, and that favor is getting called in at a most inopportune time. Of course, Porter’s closest friends–buffalo soldier Quincy Cuthbert Jackson and card sharp Roxy LeJuene–are coming along too. Too late, they learn that chasing down the kidnapper is only the beginning of a deadly path.

As they follow the Old Spanish Trail, secrets threaten to tear the rescuer’s bond apart and an unexpected stowaway increases the danger. Clues to a more sinister plot quickly unfold, and dark native magics breath terrible spells over their mission. Can Porter and his friends resolve their differences and save the girl or will they sacrifice more than life somewhere along the dark trail?

New Release:

Nothing Left To Lose by Dan Wells

Hi. My name is John Cleaver, and I hunt monsters. I used to do it alone, and then for a while I did it with a team of government specialists, and then the monsters found us and killed almost everyone, and now I hunt them alone again.

This is my story.

The final confrontation with the Withered.

Part of a series:

New Release:

Hush, Now Forget by Mary Gray and Cammie Larsen

No one will tell Eva and Frost the truth about the Blurred Ones. Not their hunter friend, and definitely not the parentals. Maybe it’s because Frost spent time in a psychiatric ward and Eva never ceases to think with her hormones. So, when the girls see an opportunity to meet Albert Knox, the most infamous Blurred One of all, they lie about their true plans and head out on their field trip to San Antonio.

When the sisters get to town, though, a ghost woman keeps attacking them in their hotel room, and they end up getting one of their classmates killed. Eva thinks she can use her feminine wiles to woo Knox, but he has a couple of more minions than they thought—and she ends up getting tossed through the window. If the sisters and their newfound hottie hunters don’t take down Knox soon, he’ll permanently attach himself to Eva in a binding ritual.

New Release:

Predators by Michaelbrent Collings

She is one of the only animals who can chase a lion from its kill…

Evie Childs hoped the all-expense-paid trip to Africa would give her a chance at adventure. Maybe it would even let her forget a past that haunts her, and find safety from a husband who abuses her.

Her jaws can crush bone to powder…

But when a group of “freedom fighters” kidnaps her safari tour group, intent on holding them for ransom, the adventure turns to nightmare.

She knows no mercy, only hunger…

Now, Evie and the rest of the survivors must travel across miles of the harshest, most dangerous environment on Earth. No food. No water. No communications. And they’re being hunted.

She is the only animal alive who laughs as she hunts…

A pack of Africa’s top predators have smelled the blood of the survivors, and will not stop until they have fed. Because in this place, you can be either one of the prey, or one of the…

…PREDATORS

New Release:

Target Rich Environment by Larry Correia

Fourteen action-packed tales of demons, monster, vampires, and cosmic horrors too terrible to name—and the men and women who take them all down. Oh, and toss in an interdimensional insurance salesman for good measure.

You’ll also find: An elven princess from the pages of Monster Hunter International on a mission to redeem her people. A samurai pirate with a blood vendetta against an extremely large sea beast. And a magic-wielding P.I. who walks the mean streets of Detroit.

Journey back to the origins of Monster Hunter International in “Bubba Shackleford’s Professional Monster Hunters.” Uncover the origin of one of Dead Six’s central characters in “Sweothi City.” And celebrate the holidays with the Grimnoir Chronicle’s own Jake Sullivan in “Detroit Christmas.”

Discover why it always pays to hire the very best when it comes to fighting a war when Correia takes on David Drake’s genre-defining Hammer’s Slammers series. And find out just how much damage a vampire can do when he was a Green Beret before he became one of the undead as Correia tackles Jonathan Maberry’s V Wars universe.

Includes three stories never before in print! “Murder on the Orient Elite” and “The Adventures of Tom Strange, Interdimensional Insurance Salesman” have previously only been available in audio format (narrated by Adam Baldwin of Firefly fame). And “Blood on the Water” makes its first appearance.

New Release:

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White

Elizabeth Lavenza hasn’t had a proper meal in weeks. Her thin arms are covered with bruises from her “caregiver,” and she is on the verge of being thrown into the streets… until she is brought to the home of Victor Frankenstein, an unsmiling, solitary boy who has everything—except a friend.

Victor is her escape from misery. Elizabeth does everything she can to make herself indispensable—and it works. She is taken in by the Frankenstein family and rewarded with a warm bed, delicious food, and dresses of the finest silk. Soon she and Victor are inseparable.

But her new life comes at a price. As the years pass, Elizabeth’s survival depends on managing Victor’s dangerous temper and entertaining his every whim, no matter how depraved. Behind her blue eyes and sweet smile lies the calculating heart of a girl determined to stay alive no matter the cost… as the world she knows is consumed by darkness.

(This is YA Horror, rather than adult horror, but it's a small enough genre that I'm going to leave YA and adult together.)

New Release:

Willow Marsh by Jo Cassidy

Death stains her hands.

Tessa yearns for closure with her mom and brother after they are killed in a tragic accident, so she tries to contact them on the other side.

Tessa’s mother taught her how to do séances, but when Tessa tries it outside her new home in Willow Marsh, some otherworldly passengers slip through the gateway.

Trying to adapt to her new home with her dad, she feels torn between the deeply flawed, shy boy with the sketchy past, and the sheriff’s hot son. Her inner voice grows dark and desperately tries to latch on to the sheriff’s son, to the point where Tessa could completely lose control.

Everyone in Willow Marsh seems to be lying, and the anxiety of renegade spirits, the powerful voice inside her head, and guilt over her mother and brother’s deaths start to consume her, breaking her down, piece by piece.

New Release:

Sleep, Don't Fret by Mary Gray

Eva and Frost are pretty stoked about their blooming hunting skills, but when they finally meet Raylan’s sister, Tess, after a witch doctor hunt in New Orleans, the group dynamic gets rather awkward.

Tess wants to kill Knox straight up dead. As in, drag him up from the bottom of the old mine shaft and use Tess’ favorite snake from the Louisiana bayou to finish the job. Eva loves the idea of bonding with Tess and being extra sure Knox will never come back to harm them, but Maggie ain’t thrilled at the idea, and Frost is a little distracted by her new cowboy boy-toy.

When Tess gets attacked by the Despairity, Eva and Raylan race back to New Orleans to help. Maggie isn’t answering her phone, and what Tess shows Eva in her secret basement is something no one expects, and it’s gonna test everyone’s relationships.

The hunters have to decide where their loyalties lie: family, friends, or love.

Part of a series:

New Release:

Terminal by Michaelbrent Collings

An employee, a cop, and six passengers; a prisoner, a stowaway, and a madman. These are the people waiting at the Lawton bus terminal. Mostly late-night travelers who want nothing more than to get to their destinations, and employees who want nothing more than to get through the graveyard shift.

But when a strange, otherworldly fog rolls in, the night changes to nightmare. Because something hides in the fog. Something powerful. Something strange. Something… inhuman. Soon, those in the terminal have been cut off from the rest of the world. No phones, no computers. Just ten strangers in the terminal… and The Other.

The Other is the force in the mist. The Other is the thing that has captured them. And The Other wants to play a game. The rules are simple:

1) The people in the terminal must choose a single person from among them. That person will live. The rest will die.

2) Anyone who attempts to leave the terminal before the final vote will die.

3) The final vote… must be unanimous.

A nightmare. And getting worse, because the best way to make a vote unanimous… is to kill the other voters.

Welcome to the Terminal.

The second book in my Southern Gothic family saga series, The Possession Chronicles, releases June 11, 2019.
MURMURS OF EVIL is Gothic horror with romance elements.
Set in 1906 along Mobile Bay in Alabama, it keeps with the Southern Gothic tone of the whole series (8 books that span 1904-1929) while bringing in a horror thread with demonic happenings and exorcisms that occur off and on throughout the series. (A common theme throughout the books are personal demons--think the song "Demons" by Imagine Dragons and The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis--but they sometimes manifest as infestation/possession after major sins.)
In the book/series, demonic infestations/possession are dealt with according the Bible and Roman Catholic belief structure.
Available in paperback or digital/KU.

Carrie wrote: "The second book in my Southern Gothic family saga series, The Possession Chronicles, releases June 11, 2019.
MURMURS OF EVIL is Gothic horror with romance elements.
Set in 1906 along Mobile Bay i..."

Congrats on the new book, Carrie! Thanks for posting!

Tendrils of Passion, the third book in The Possession Chronicles, is now available in print and digital.
Like the second novel in this historical Southern Gothic family saga, it's considered Gothic horror (dealing with demonic infestation/possession) though the series at large is Gothic family saga.
The first two books in the series, Perilous Confessions and Murmurs of Evil, are both nominated for the 2019 Whitney Award in general fiction.