Category Archives: Author Interviews

Beyond the Gardens by Sandra C. Lopez

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Beyond the Gardens by Sandra C. Lopez ~ Genre: Teen Fiction

At the age of 18, Esperanza Ignacio begins her college years at an upscale Los Angeles art school, where she studies to fulfill her long-term dream in Animation. But she soon learns the truth to the old folktale: “you can take the girl out of the barrio, but you can’t take the barrio out of the girl.” Even though she’s getting financial aid, Esperanza works a part-time job during her break from classes just to make ends meet. Her roommate, Anna, is what she calls a “chicana from Beverly Hills” because of the rich daddy and the new car she got for her quinceañera.

Things get a little confusing for Esperanza when an old friend comes looking for her, hoping to start a meaningful relationship. But is Carlos the right guy for her? She never even considered him to be anything more than a friend since high school. Then comes Jake, a gorgeous mechanic, who shares her passion for books and loves her for who she is. What’s a girl to do?

Strength and determination help pave the way for the future. And, as she approaches her graduation, she is faced with a difficult decision: should she leave Los Angeles and leave behind her family, her home, and everything she’s known? Ever since she was born in the California barrio of Hawaiian Gardens, she’s always had to look over the fence, wondering what she’s been missing. Now she’s taking a flying leap over to see what’s beyond the little barrio. What’s beyond her family, her friends, and her past? What’s beyond the little nothing town, where dreams don’t exist? What’s beyond The Gardens? Is it life, love, a future? The story of Esperanza is finally concluded in this wildly entertaining and heart-warming sequel.

**Only .99 cents!!**

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Would you like a chance to win a $15 Amazon Gift Card? Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

Sandra C. López is one of today’s influential Latina authors in Young Adult literature. Her first novel, Esperanza: A Latina Story, was published in March 2008 WHILE she was still in college. Since then she has published several other books, including the Single Chicas series. She was named as one of “2011 Top Ten New Latino Authors to Watch” by Latino Stories, and her book, Beyond the Gardens, was a Silver Medal winner of the 2016 Global Ebook Awards in Multicultural Fiction and won first place in the Int’l Latino Book Awards. She also works as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer. Art, literature, and travel are her passions, and she aims to keep doing them as long as she can. For inquiries regarding events and projects, please contact her directly.

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Q: First, tell us how you came to be a published author and how you came up with the idea to provide reviews to authors.

A: I wrote my first novel, Esperanza: A Latina Story, WHILE I was still in college. The book follows the story of a 14-year old Mexican-American girl trying to get out of the barrio and make something of her life. Full of humor and refreshing dialogue, this book was voted as an inspirational favorite by teen readers. Shortly after that, I wrote the sequel entitled Beyond the Gardens, published in October 2009.

In the second book, the lead heroine gains new confidence and strength as she learns the hard way that “you can take the girl out of the barrio, but you can’t take the barrio out of the girl.”

I write stories with strong and independent female characters that I, myself, would like to read about. When I’m not writing, I get my fill on reading for the enjoyment as well as to improve my craft. Like every published author, I was emailing book bloggers, asking them to please review my book. But, like querying to a publisher, most of them were unresponsive and some weren’t interested. And, of course, I used paid services that would list my book in their newsletters, reaching potential readers that may or may not review my book. That worked out okay. But let’s face it: getting reviews is tough. It’s hard when your book isn’t well publicized and no one is willing to give it chance. That’s what started my book blog. Initially, it started as just a blog for my own personal reviews on books that I read. At that point, I started taking requests from authors and publishers. My own personal review would be free, but, of course, like every other blogger, I only chose the ones that I wanted and rejected those that I didn’t. Yes, my readings tastes are pretty open in a wide variety of genres, but there are some that just don’t really interest me (i.e. westerns, politics sports, etc.) So how do I help those rejected authors get reviews? After all, I couldn’t possibly review them all. That’s when I came up with the idea of starting a book club of readers and a review program to supply authors with more reviews besides the one that I give them. Readers can sign up to get free books from authors, and authors can get reviews for their books. It’s a simple, easy, and convenient program. And it’s working!

Q: How can this review program benefit writers?

A: The review program allows authors to list their books and reach a wide range of readers. It’s been a hit so far! About 85% of participating authors get at least 1 – 2 reviews on Amazon, and we receive over 50 reviews a month from readers. And the best part about it is that we offer free ways for authors to list their book in our program. As an author, I totally understand that budgets can be tight, which makes it harder (maybe even impossible) to promote your books. Most authors shy away to any promo service when there’s a price. What better price is there than FREE?

Q: What do you think is the most important aspect of a book to make it sell?

A: The story itself along with a fabulous cover is definitely important. But probably the most important would have to be reviews. Let’s face it: reviews are the life blood of any book. More reviews equal a greater online exposure and a higher sales ranking, which, could result in sales. My book, Single Chicas, has over 70 reviews, and that has given me more royalties on Kindle sales. The reviews made the difference because before I got no royalties, and now I’m surprised to actually see one come through knowing that I didn’t do any promotion. Book reviews are definitely the key thing here.

Q: How is your author review program unique?

A: My review program is unique because I offer a free option for authors, and I do that because I want authors of all kinds to get a fair chance at getting reviews for their books. Every book deserves a review. These are HONEST and LEGIT reviews. There is no buying reviews here. Readers are free to choose any book and reserve the right in whether or not a review gets posted. It’s all strictly voluntary and 100% honest.

Q: Are you working on any projects at the moment?

A: I am currently working on Book 2 of the Single Chicas series, which is a series of short stories focusing on funny, zany, and wildly entertaining chicas.

Q: How can authors and readers sign up to your review program?

For authors interested in submitting their book to get reviews, please go to: https://sandrasbookclub.blogspot.com/2015/02/submission-guidelines.html

For readers interested in signing up to read free books, please go to: https://sandrasbookclub.blogspot.com/2019/09/read-review-program.html

I’m excited to be one of many tour hosts sharing information about Beyond the Gardens by Sandra C. Lopez.

Resistor by C.E. Clayton (bonus giveaway)

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Resistor: An Eerden Novel (Ellinor Book 1) by C.E. Clayton ~ Genre: New Adult Cyberpunk Fantasy

Ellinor Rask has wanted one thing for the past eight years: vengeance. But when Ellinor is captured, she finds herself dragged back into the world she walked away from, entangled once more with friends she would rather forget.

As if that weren’t humiliating enough, Ellinor learns first hand that her magic can be stripped away by a piece of bio-tech—and her ex-boss is happy to leash her with the technology in order to get what he wants. If Ellinor behaves, the device will be removed. All she has to do is deliver a package. One containing a creature created from raw magical energy and discarded technology. Simple, right?

But when her goals start getting people murdered, Ellinor has to decide if the year’s planning, her honor, and even her own magic, are worth the lives it’s costing. Dodging ruthless gangsters, she finds herself on the run with a creature of immeasurable magical abilities alongside her one-time friends. Now, Ellinor must relearn to trust the people she once abandoned. She must put her faith in technology, and her life in the hands of independent contractors, all while racing to deliver the package before it gets taken by force, or worse, the creature decides to make an appearance itself.

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Would you like a chance to win a $15 Amazon gift card (1 winner) or a Swag Pack (3 winners)? Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

C. E. Clayton was born and raised in the greater Los Angeles area. After going the traditional career route and becoming restless, she went back to her first love–writing–and hasn’t stopped. She is the author of young adult fantasy series, “The Monster of Selkirk”, the creator of the cyberpunk Eerden Novels, and her horror short stories have appeared in anthologies across the country. When she’s not writing you can find her treating her fur-babies like humans, constantly drinking tea, and trying to convince her husband to go to more concerts. And reading. She does read quite a bit.

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Do you write one book at a time or do you have several going at a time?

I tend to only write one book at a time, but I have several projects going at once. So I may be writing the first draft of book 2 while I am revising book 1 and vaguely plotting for book 3. But my characters grow and change too much to write two books at once even if it’s for the same series. And I can’t write two completely different genre books at once as flipping my mindset to those two projects and going back and forth tends to not do justice for either of them.

What made you want to become an author and do you feel it was the right decision?

I’ve always enjoyed writing. I love writing long stories, and never cringed at being assigned essays in school. I’ve always loved making people feel things with my words and the characters I’ve crafted. So when the opportunity came for me to be able to turn my passions into a career, of course I jumped on it! Some days are harder than others, but I’ve never regretted walking away from my corporate job for a moment.

Advice they would give new authors?

There are lots of “How To” books out there on how to get your book out there, or how to craft characters etc. Get those only if you want to, because ultimately, the best advice I can give any new author is to write from your heart, and take your time. If you try to write a story you don’t care about, chances are your readers won’t care for it, either. There’s lots of people who say you have to write to market if you ever want to make money as an author. While there is some truth to that, if you don’t want to write a contemporary romance, or a YA fantasy book with shifters in it just so you can have a book out in a genre that’s really popular, then don’t. Readers will always be able to tell if an author is bored by what they are writing, because they will be bored too, and then they won’t want to read any of your other books—even if they are the ones you are most passionate about!

My second piece of advice is: even if you “finish” that book you love and are super proud of (which you should be, that’s a great accomplishment!) there’s often this feeling of “Ok, I’m done! I gotta hurry up and get this into people’s hands!” and that’s how mistakes happen. You tend to settle for “good enough” rather than something you are 100% in love with, and honestly your book may not even be ready for the masses yet. I take a step back from my books when I finish the “last” revision. I don’t touch or even look at my WIP for at least 2 months before going back and doing another final read through before handing the story over to my editor or getting it ready to publish. The reason for this is: I can see the story with fresh eyes and usually catch so many things I would have missed otherwise because I was just so excited to have this completed book and wanting it to get out there as soon as possible. That was, I think, one of the biggest mistakes I made early in my author career as well, so it tends to be what I tell new authors the most as well.

What is your writing process? For instance do you do an outline first? Do you do the chapters first?

I am what you call a plantser, someone who does a little plotting, but otherwise writes by the seat of her pants. I’ve also heard this method called the headlight method which is something that Jay Kristoff uses when he’s writing as well. Basically, I know where the story ends, what the climax is, I know a few big events that have to happen, and not much else!

That’s what I do first though, after my world and character building is done: I figure out where this story ends, or where this series ends and what big things the characters have to do in order to get toward that goal. I put those bullet points down in a word document as potential chapters, but there’s usually only about 5-8 chapters at a time listed out. The characters tend to drive how long it takes to get to those points within a chapter, or new “issues” for them to solve come up in between. I’ve found if I outline everything in a very detailed manner, not only do I get bored with the book before I’ve even written it, but things change and I’d just have to redo the outline anyway. This gives me freedom to explore tangents and subplots, but still staying a bit structured as well.

I do write in order though. I can’t start anywhere but the beginning of my story and then go chapter by chapter to the end. I know some people like to start in the middle where all the action tends to be and then work out to fill in the gaps of how characters got to that point, but my brain just doesn’t operate that way. But I do like this headlight/plantsing method best for me. It fits my writing style best and helps me always stay excited by what I’m writing.

I’m excited to be one of many tour hosts sharing information about Resistor by C.E. Clayton.

Chasing Magic by Rachel Medhurst

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Chasing Magic (The Last Witch Coven book 1) by Rachel Medhurst ~ Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance

An elemental witch with limited magic falls in love with a human. Standard really.

My story is a typical one. Girl meets boy, drama ensues, and the warlocks try to kill me. Okay, maybe not so typical. And yet, it’s on point. My whole life, I’ve been one of eight members left in the last witch coven. Cursed to continually revisit the earth until all eight of us unite with our soul match in one lifetime, we fight the warlocks in order to reawaken magic before the witches finally die out.

Antony is my hunky bodyguard, assigned to me by the last witch elder. When I’m kidnapped by the warlocks, he stops at nothing to find me, even though he’s in complete denial about our connection. Still, can’t blame a guy for freaking out when he finds out that he’s a witch, destined to be my soul match. Only time will tell if we’re able to fulfil our fate or will magic fade, along with my happiness?

THIS BOOK WAS PREVIOUSLY CALLED PISCES – ZODIAC TWIN FLAME BOOK 1. IT HAS BEEN REWORKED AND EDITED

**Only .99 cents**

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Chasing Warlocks (The Last Witch Coven book 2) by Rachel Medhurst ~ Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance

Bring magic back to earth? Easy peasy. Until my life gets blown apart. Literally.

With a witch elder missing, and a mission to complete, I’m in the perfect position to plan a counter attack on the warlocks. That’s until a disaster at work rips my world apart, leaving me defenceless against our enemy.

My ex-girlfriend Natalie is determined to get me back on my feet, pushing me to become a better witch in order to fight the warlocks and find my soul-match. If I don’t embrace the new me, my magic will fade along with my chance at being happy.

THIS BOOK USED TO BE CALLED ARIES – BOOK 2 IN THE ZODIAC TWIN FLAME SERIES. IT’S BEEN REWORKED AND EDITED.

**Only .99 cents**

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Would you like a chance to win a $20 Amazon gift card? Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

Rachel grew up in South East England. She learnt at a young age that life can be hard work. She now believes that whatever happens to you, you can overcome it.

She writes to help others see that no matter where you come from, you can still achieve your dreams. As a teenager she would never have dreamed of becoming an author.

However, in her twenties, she realised that she was allowing her past to dictate her future. She decided to accept and forgive everything that had happened to her, everyone that had hurt or upset her and she even forgave herself for allowing life to bring her down.

In early 2014 after writing The Deadliners, Rachel decided to self publish. It was one of the best things she’s ever done. Since then, she’s released numerous series’ and really enjoys writing full time.

Rachel will always remember where she came from, but only to see how far she has come.

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Something made my gaze lift to the closed front door. A strong compulsion overtook me, so I followed my instinct and ended up standing at the top of the townhouse steps, just outside the door.

“How did you know I was here?”

Antony sat on the bottom step, his arms resting on his thighs. I looked at the back of his head as my heart played like a drumstick against my ribcage.

“I didn’t, something made me-”

He got up and spun towards me. “I didn’t want to see you.”

I grabbed my chest as pain exploded through me. “Then, why did you come?” I snapped back.

What was his problem?

Antony shook his head and ran up the steps, stopping on the one just below me. I reached out and rested my hand on his chest. His heartbeat was as rapid as mine, his muscular frame unable to hide the thumping. He folded his fingers around mine and looked into my eyes.

“You make me feel…” he whispered, tapping his chest with our entwined hands.

“You make me-”

“Don’t.” He leant forward and rubbed his nose against mine. “When I see you, a rush of emotion overtakes me, and I can’t even think.”

His lips were close to mine. I wanted to lean forward and touch him with my tongue. It was a bizarre urge, and yet, there it was. However, I couldn’t go round poking him with my tongue, we had to talk.

“That’s how I feel, Antony. I want to date you. We can start slow, work out this witch journey together.”

His eyes widened and he started to pull back. Putting my arms around his neck, I tried to comfort him. He took my hands and moved them away.

“This is crazy. It’s not real.”

“Why do you say that? Why are you fighting?”

Moving forward as he backed down the steps, I halted when he put up a hand. “Please don’t run from me,” I whispered as his feet touched the pavement and he turned. 

I am excited to be one of many tour hosts sharing Chasing Magic by Rachel Medhurst.

Blood Ties Series by K. L. Lamar

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K L. Lamar lives with her family in the South and a dog who is plotting to off her one day. K. L. Lamar writes thrillers, mysteries, and suspense novels. After years of voracious reading, her teacher told her mother when she was younger that she was destined to be a writer.
When she’s not reading, writing, or traveling, you can find her on the ocean somewhere, sailing the high tides.

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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

Blood Ties (Blood Ties Series book 1) by K.L. Lamar ~ Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Great hitman, devoted brother, and reluctant father.

Jason finds out he’s going to be a dad, so he vows to leave his dangerous job behind, His good intentions evaporate like mist when his brother is murdered. All the clues points to two crime lords, but one wrong move and Jason is next.

He finds his moral compass has shifted when he delves into the underworld of crime during a war between the two biggest drug cartels of the north and south. Things become complicated when he learns that everything, he knows was a lie.

If you like author’s in the vein of James Patterson and Lisa Jackson, then you will love this new series by K.L. Lamar. Buy this exciting crime novel and read it now!

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Blood Secrets (Blood Ties Series book 2) by K.L. Lamar ~ Genre: Mystery/Thriller

An assassin who has shed his blood to hide the truth, must trust a crime lord with a hidden agenda but will he survive an invisible enemy bent on revenge.

Jason Wright has shed blood to keep the truth from being revealed. He’s left his past behind and has begun a new lease on life. When his skeletons come out the closet, and he is on verge of losing everything and everyone he holds dear. The past has come knocking on his door. Now the assassin becomes the hunted. Jason finds himself in the crosshairs of life’s confusion. Can Jason vanquish the enemy and save his loved ones, or will he be forced to watch them die before his life is forfeited?
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I am excited to be one of many tour hosts sharing information about the Blood Ties Series by K. L. Lamar.

Mental Damnation by Konn Lavery

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Konn Lavery is a Canadian author whose work has been recognized by Edmonton’s top five bestseller charts and by reviewers such as Readers’ Favorite, and Literary Titan.

He started writing stories at a young age while being homeschooled. After graduating from graphic design college, he began professionally pursuing his writing with his first release, Reality. He continues to write in the thriller, horror, and fantasy genres.

He balances his literary work along with his own graphic design and website development business, titled Reveal Design (www.revealdesign.ca). His visual communication skills have been transcribed into the formatting and artwork found within his publications supporting his fascination of transmedia storytelling.

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Mental Damnation: Reality (book 1) by Konn Lavery ~ Genre: Dark Fantasy

Banished to the Underworld. A Ritual. The Disease.

Enter the rich mythical world of Konn Lavery’s debut novel containing a military dictatorship, cults, and politically-driven gangs.


After Krista’s people were banished from the surface by the humans, they were reduced to violence and hatred.

She and her only friend, Darkwing, survive as street kids as their people’s leaders become crazed from an unknown disease – Mental Damnation. After their infection, the Guardians develop a bizarre interest in her, claiming they must reap her innocence for their newfound master, the Weaver.

Krista has limited options for survival: Does she fend for her life in the City of Renascence, or risk leaving everything behind and enter the uncharted realm of the underworld?

——

“Konn Lavery has taken me into his mind and carried me on a richly woven tapestry of metaphors for the human condition.”- Amber, Goodreads Reviewer

“Both well-written and well thought out, Mental Damnation is an instant classic and I can’t wait to see what happens next!”
– Joshua Grant, Goodreads Reviewer

“When I finally got into the actual book, I found myself unable to put it down, even reading it on my break at work”
– Dawn Herbert, Goodreads Reviewer

**Only .99 cents!**

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Mental Damnation: Dream (book 2) by Konn Lavery ~ Genre: Dark Fantasy

A Fallen God. The Marking. Damnation Has Begun.
The ritual set everything in motion for Krista in the continuation of the Mental Damnation series hinting at the afterlife, and a lurkingevil.
Gatekeeper Danil found and used her in an unholy event which completes Krista’s infection of Mental Damnation.
It is the very disease that collapsed her leaders and wreaked havocamong her people, how will she maintain her sanity through the visionsof hell?
——
“Lavery writes an extremely good book: captivating, highly descriptive, emotional and hauntingly poignant.”
– G.J. Griffiths, Goodreads Reviewer
“The world Mr. Lavery created is absolutely captivating and the illustrations beautiful!”
– Cassandra Larsen, Goodreads Reviewer
“I’m invested now an will continue to follow this story in the next book.”
– Jenae (Jeni), Goodreads Reviewer

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Mental Damnation: Purity (book 3) by Konn Lavery ~ Genre: Dark Fantasy

Krista allies with a fallen paladin as the Weaver sends his deadliest servant after her.
The Mental Damnation series continues in a high fantasy tale of forbidden love, banishment, and fallen warriors.
Krista’s hope of escaping Dreadweave Pass lessens as the Weaver sends a fallen angel to capture her. Will her allegiance with a corrupt paladin be enough to triumph?
——
“Book three in the Mental Damnation series picks up perfectly and continues with Krista’s story. There is a lot of action, drama and suspense”
– Sheri, Goodreads Reviewer

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Mental Damnation: Mortal (book 4) by Konn Lavery ~ Genre: Dark Fantasy

Damnation ends. The Afterlife is at war. Krista must fend for herself.
Mortal is the concluding novel of the dark fantasy series Mental Damnation. Follow Krista as she descends further into Dreadweave Pass and fulfilling the path of a warrior set by her father, reinforced by her allies. Will Krista manage to escape the land of the damned? She fights to return to Darkwing in the mortal realm, as he struggles to rescue her. Home is no safe haven either, for her people and the humans are on the brink of an all-out-war.

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Would you like a chance to win a $20 Amazon giftcard or an ebook set of Mental Damnation books 1-3? (1 winner each) Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

What inspired you to write this book?

Mortal was long overdue. The Mental Damnation series has been the burning flame with my writing for 14 years since its conception as a single 190,000-word manuscript. Even then, the story wasn’t complete and a second book was fully outlined, which was scrapped entirely. The book had a ton of revisions applied to it and grew in size. Eventually, the manuscript split into three books.

The first book Reality was the first professional release back in 2012. I’ve taken several detours since then and had also released two more novels in the Mental Damnation series, which concluded the original 190,000-word manuscript from 2006. Still, the ending wasn’t defined.

Fans wanted to know the ending, and I wanted to too. So the inspiration was to give the fans and characters the ending they deserved. All of last year, I thoroughly reviewed the first three books, plotted, wrote, and spent many hours on the book to get it out.

What can we expect from you in the future?

More writing, of course! In the near future, I am compiling a wide range of short stories I have worked on into a transmedia anthology, which includes a musical score, artwork, and a multiverse world of multiple short stories ranging in genres.

Do you have any “side stories” about the characters?

The Mental Damnation tetralogy has a ton of subplots going on. I have over a decade’s worth of backstory notes, a lot of it never made it into the series. There are also expanded universe short stories that will appear in the anthology.

Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Mortal?

Sure. The characters are a continuation of the Mental Damnation series. There are a few new characters and others that have been long foreshadowed since the first book. The protagonist is Krista, a reptilian who is struggling with being imprisoned by humans. They are racist to her people and are using her as a political tool while trying to study the brain disease she has – Mental Damnation. The disease makes her believe she crosses into hell during her dreams, where she is trying to escape. While all of this is occurring, she is dealing with her coming of age struggles. She has conflicts with friends, romance, learning self-defence, making choices on her own, and developing confidence.

How did you come up with the concept and characters for the book?

The concept came to me from an illustration I sketched out back in 2006. Krista was already a pre-established character to a story I had written. The Mental Damnation series was intended to be an origin story of how she came to be. The sketch was of a younger Krista clutching her head and split between the real world and hell. The hell side would explain who she became in that other story.

A few other characters had been defined as well, such as Darkwing and Malpherities. Other than that, the split reality illustration sprouted the storyline.

Where did you come up with the names in the story?

I’ll add to the previous question; the name came to me from the initial sketch of the concept I did back in 2006. The sketch which had Krista and the split world also had a title banner, as I thought this sketch would become the book cover. It didn’t. But seeing her head clutched, the ordinary world, and the hell world, the title Mental Damnation was self-explanatory and it stuck.

For the Kingdom of Zingalg and the fantasy aspects of the tetralogy, I pulled influences from naming conventions seen in Brian Jacques’s work such as Redwall and the videogame universe Warcraft by Blizzard. The theory is mashing two words together as a single word or with hyphens describing what it is.

For Dreadweave Pass (see the mashing of words there?), the hellish realm and the afterlife, I used some of the same techniques but also made reference to biblical mythology and Latin names.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

For Mortal, I enjoyed writing the conclusion to the Mental Damnation series. It brought a sense of completeness to me on a deeply personal level.

Who designed your book covers?

I am a graphic designer by trade and work as a freelancer. Naturally, I designed the cover and interior formatting. For Mental Damnation, the series uses a custom drawn typeface seen in the titles and chapters. There are also glyphs and illustrations within the books that I did too.

For my other novels, I too did the covers and interior formatting and most of the artwork that accompanies them.

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?

Of course! Hindsight is 20/20. I almost did third editions of the Mental Damnation series so I could do more foreshadowing for Mortal. But perfection is the enemy of progress, and these minor details are only things that grew in recent years. Fans love the books as is, and I was more interested in giving them the next book in the series than going back and re-releasing the first three for the third time to make Mortal slightly different.

Did you learn anything during the writing of your recent book?

I did! I learned not to spend 14 years on a series, haha. In seriousness, Mortal was the first book where I wrote the first draft with speech to text software. Other authors I know have talked about how much fun it is to speak your story out, and how much faster it is. I finally tried it out and quite enjoyed the process.

Anything specific you want to tell your readers?

Thank you, sincerely, for all the years of support. Some of you have been a part of the journey since I first released Reality in 2012—others, even longer. Finishing Mortal is for you.

How did you come up with the name of this book?

Oh, well, that would be giving spoilers. Let’s just say thematically from the first three, it was bound to be.

What is your favorite part of this book, and why?

Spoilers! Chapters 17 and 24 gave me a real strange hit in the chest with warmth going all the way through, like when you have a crush on someone, or your pet dies.

Convince us why you feel your book is a must-read.

Short pitch: Lord of the Rings meets twisted Alice in Wonderland.

Long pitch: The Mental Damnation tetralogy brings readers into a dark, surreal, twisted world of Dreadweave Pass and the Kingdom of Zingalg. Necromantic Rituals. Holy spells. Demons, ghouls, angels, and gods. The classic good vs evil is shrouded with uncertainty as moral lines blur from the vast unbiased void of realism.

Have you written any other books that are not published?

I have. Two will NEVER see the light of day. One might, it needs some T.L.C., but there’s an excellent foundation to work with. I also have a couple of books fully outlined chapter by chapter, but they too are scrapped.

I am excited to be one of many tour hosts sharing information about the Mental Damnation Series by Konn Lavery.

World War Dead by TS Alan

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Author and Co-Founder of ZombieEducationAlliance.com. TS Alan is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, and suspense, but also frequently incorporates elements of fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and satire. Alan has published two novels, and six short stories.

Alan was born outside Buffalo, NY. He is the son of divorced parents. He was educated at Williamsville South High School, Niagara Community College and the State University College at Buffalo.

Alan is an author of contemporary horror/fantasy. He is most known for his zombie stories. His first published novel was The Romero Strain (2014), which was published by Books of the Dead Press. His sequel The Romero Strain: The Dead, the Damned, and the Darkness was independently released in November 2017.

As influences on his writing, Alan lists Clive Barker, Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Edgar Allen Poe, and O. Henry, among others.

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World War Dead by TS Alan ~ Genre: Apocalyptic Horror

World War Dead is a four-part zombie novel, in which military and health organizations around the world battle time and the undead in an attempt to get valuable research data to the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Maryland. There, an antiviral for the Acute Reanimation Syndrome (ARS) virus is being developed.
The novel has main characters from each region, two of which are half-zombies, and all the stories are intertwined with one another.

Part I: War of the Dead
A zombified Marine lieutenant injected with the antiviral is brought back to half-life but finds himself caught between human and zombie, and reconsiders which side he should fight on.

Part II: Escape from the DeadWith time running out, a European CDC security team faces insurmountable odds against zombies and a hostile military faction attempting to get their antiviral to an awaiting military transport plane that will take them to a US military base.

Part III: Call to Arms
A Canadian helicopter team arrives at a US military outpost for an exchange to acquire a batch of antiviral but finds themselves betrayed and stranded. Having learned of High Command’s treacheries, a rogue team of Marines led by a sympathetic master sergeant comes to the Canadians rescue. The master sergeant hopes to enlist the Canadians, along with a brigade of half-zombies, as part of a strike force to overthrow a forced labor camp in Gettysburg run by the military.

Part IV: War of the Dead
A former Army sergeant, who finds her half-zombie condition has left her infertile, leads a discontented group of half-zombies on a war against humanity and zombies alike. Will the remaining military, the work camp survivors, and the lieutenant’s half-mute brigade unite in time to stop the dissident half-mutes from executing their elaborate plan of genocide, or will humankind finally meet extinction?

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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

TS Alan vs the Pandemic

I am a survivalist. I am a prepper. I have lived through and survived two power outages and a major hurricane that hit New York City. I was fully aware that there was going to be a viral pandemic in my lifetime. I was prepared for it — almost! What I had prepared for and what has actually happened in NYC was underwhelming. That is not to say that COVID-19 hasn’t brought loss of life, tragedy, and heartbreak around the globe, but I wasn’t prepared for anything less than a full out viral apocalypse. One where I would have to hunker down in my apartment for 6 months while the world fell into chaos. That I was prepared for and would have no problem enduring.

However, that’s not how it has unfolded. Millions of people haven’t succumbed to the virus, the world economy hasn’t collapsed, and humankind isn’t fighting to survive in the sense that there is no more food chain and the stores are empty. What happened was people have tragically died, but not in the millions, the food chain though slightly bent, isn’t broken, and society hasn’t collapsed.

What has personally happened is that I’m out of work and still have to pay rent, buy groceries, and pay health insurance and taxes – just like millions of other Americans. The apocalypse didn’t happen the way I imagined. It’s vexing knowing I didn’t think about or prepare for a pandemic that wouldn’t be society ending. So, now I have to rethink the way I prep for the future. If this type of pandemic happens again, and it certainly will, it may be even a worse. Banks could falter from a bad economy and freeze people’s funds. Groceries and sundry items could be harder to attain, far worse than what some parts of the country has already experienced. How then does one pay for goods when your credit cards and ATM bank cards are no longer acceptable? Cash, that old standard will be the fall back currency of exchange. How many of you have a stash of cash in your residence? I mean a significant amount of money. Hell, most of the people I know don’t have enough food or other provisions to last a week, let alone enough cash to get them through 6 months. I learned from the first power outage I experienced that cash on hand is important. Except, $300 – $400 is simply not enough if things get really bad over an extended period of time.

So, I have started tucking away a nest egg and adding more provisions onto my stockpile for the next time. I’m now preparing for an extended horrible scenario along with the world ending one. So, what have you learned about your ability or inability to survive a pandemic. Let me know your thoughts at tsalanauthor@gmail.com.

I’m excited to be one of many tour hosts sharing information about World War Dead by TS Alan.

Tangled Fae Series by Sarah K. L. Wilson

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USA Today bestselling author, Sarah K. L. Wilson writes young adult fantasy books about little people in big worlds who face the darkness and don’t back down.
Sarah hails from the rocky Canadian Shield in Northern Ontario – learning patience and tenacity from the long months of icy cold – where she lives with her husband and two small boys. You might find her building fires in her woodstove and wishing she had a dragon handy to light them for her.

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Fae Hunter (Tangled Fae Book 1) by Sarah K. L. Wilson ~ Genre: YA Fantasy Romance

“You’re the most wicked thing I’ve ever met.”


From USA Today bestselling author Sarah K. L. Wilson comes a deliciously trope-filled young adult romantic fantasy about a viciously funny mortal girl and her quest to hunt, trap, and conquer powerful fae.

I was born to hunt. I was born to protect.
But this is the one creature I wasn’t trained to kill.
The fae are sneaking into our little town. They stole my sister. They stole my sight. And now they’re going to steal everything else … unless I stop them. Isn’t that so charming?
I don’t care that they’re pretty. I don’t care that to them lies are truth, power is sustenance, and every action ripples into violence. I’m not going to let their glamor fool me. I’m going to use it to fuel me as I bring them down.
But the town is turning against me, and I’m losing allies one by one. I need a secret weapon to use against them and I need to be brave enough to use it … whatever the cost.
Can one mortal girl stop all of the Faewald?
I’m going to have to try.

For lovers of The Cruel Prince and An Enchantment of Ravens comes a world of violent fae, trickery, and magic. Grab the first book of the Tangled Fae series today!

**Only .99 cents!**

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Fae Captive (Tangled Fae Book 2) by Sarah K. L. Wilson ~ Genre: YA Fantasy Romance

Think you could craft the perfect bargain?

From USA Today bestselling author Sarah K. L. Wilson comes the second book in this stunning new fantasy series.
Allie Hunter thought all she had to do was make an exchange to buy back her father’s life. She was wrong. Mortals are so often wrong about the Faewald. Usually, that kills them, or mires them in bargains that will suck their life out sip by sip.

With Allie caught in a cage and the Fae she had once tormented her new captor, can she strike the right bargain to save everything she loves?

For lovers of The Cruel Prince and An Enchantment of Ravens comes a world of violent fae royals, trickery, and magic. Grab the second book of this hot new series today!

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Fae Nightmare (Tangled Fae Book 3) by Sarah K. L. Wilson ~ Genre: YA Fantasy Romance

The hunt is on.

Allie Hunter has lost ten years in the blink of an eye.
But though the town she left has changed, some things – the worst things – remain exactly the same.

As Allie battles conflicting loyalties, the censure of the town, and her own broken family, she begins to realize that she might be the only one standing in the way of a war between fae and mortals.

Can she possibly craft a trap good enough to stop the coming fae army?
For lovers of The Cruel Prince and An Enchantment of Ravens comes a world of violent fae royals, trickery, and magic. Grab the third book of this hot new series today!

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Fae Pursuit (Tangled Fae Book 4) by Sarah K. L. Wilson ~ Genre: YA Fantasy Romance

Allie Hunter is playing a dangerous game for mortals.

From USA Today bestselling author Sarah K. L. Wilson comes a deliciously trope-filled young adult romantic fantasy about a viciously funny mortal girl and her quest to hunt, trap, and conquer powerful fae.

Allie thought she was saving her own mortality and stopping the Fae incursion when she killed the Balance – one of four Fae roles – and took a particularly essential Fae as her captive.

But Allie didn’t think through the consequences. Now, she has one of the four roles of the Faewald. A role she must fulfill by force of magic.

Worse, the Blood Moon has risen in the Faewald and that means it is the time of the Wild Hunt.

Can Allie find a way to save her people while fleeing the Wild Hunt and fighting against a magic that seeks to control her?

It’s still just one mortal girl against the Faewald, but now the stakes couldn’t be higher.

For lovers of The Cruel Prince and An Enchantment of Ravens comes a world of violent fae, trickery, and magic. Grab the fourth book of the Tangled Fae series today!

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Fae Conqueror (Tangled Fae Book 5) by Sarah K. L. Wilson ~ Genre: YA Fantasy Romance

She can conquer the Fae – but at what cost?

From USA Today bestselling author Sarah K. L. Wilson comes this thrilling conclusion to a deliciously trope-filled young adult romantic fantasy series about a viciously funny mortal girl and her quest to hunt, trap, and conquer powerful fae.

Allie had an army, allies, and a plan, but with all of those things slipping through here fingers she is being driven further and further toward a path she hadn’t planned to take and a choice she didn’t want to make.

How selfless is Allie, really? Would she give her own life to save her people … and her new husband?

Or will she have to carve out another way forward? And what might that way cost her?

For lovers of The Cruel Prince and An Enchantment of Ravens comes a world of violent fae, trickery, and magic. Grab the thrilling conclusion of the Tangled Fae series today!

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GIVEAWAY #1

Win a complete Hardcover set of the books (US only, international winner gets an ebook set)

Enter the Author’s giveaway HERE!

GIVEAWAY #2:

Would you like a chance to win a $15 Amazon Gift Card? Follow the tour HERE for special content and two giveaways!

What does it take for a story to be successful?

A story works if it makes us want something other than for the story to be over. If it makes us want the hero to win, or darkness to be defeated,  if it makes us want the heroine to find that one thing she’s searching for or finally kiss that person she’s been longing for, if it makes us want something even deeper – justice or courage or love in our real lives – then that’s a real story.

Stories let us feel the thrill of riding a dragon without the terror of falling off. They let us find the courage to risk everything for love without the danger of losing that love. They give us the chance to fight a battle with bravery and honor without the fear of torture and failure. And if they do their work, we walk away with a deeper love, a stronger courage, an ability to choose honor that we didn’t have before we started reading.  

I try to tell stories like that for readers like you – people who want more from a story.

I’m excited to be one of many tour hosts sharing information about the Tangled Fae Series by Sarah K. L. Wilson.

The Man From Milwaukee by Rick R. Reed

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Real Men. True Love.

Rick R. Reed is an award-winning and bestselling author of more than fifty works of published fiction. He is a Lambda Literary Award finalist. Entertainment Weekly has described his work as “heartrending and sensitive.” Lambda Literary has called him: “A writer that doesn’t disappoint…” Find him at http://www.rickrreedreality.blogspot.com. Rick lives in Palm Springs, CA, with his husband, Bruce, and their fierce Chihuahua/Shiba Inu mix, Kodi.

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The Man From Milwaukee by Rick R. Reed ~ Genre: Horror, LGBTQ

It’s the summer of 1991 and serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer has been arrested. His monstrous crimes inspire dread around the globe. But not so much for Emory Hughes, a closeted young man in Chicago, who sees in the cannibal killer a kindred spirit, someone who fights against the dark side of his own nature, as Emory does. He reaches out to Dahmer in prison via letters.

The letters become an escape—from Emory’s mother, dying from AIDS, from his uncaring sister, from his dead-end job in downtown Chicago, but most of all, from his own self-hatred.

Dahmer isn’t Emory’s only lifeline as he begins a tentative relationship with Tyler Kay. He falls for him, and just like Dahmer, wonders how he can get Tyler to stay. Emory’s desire for love leads him to confront his own grip on reality. For Tyler, the threat of the mild-mannered Emory seems inconsequential, but not taking the threat seriously is at his own peril.

Can Emory discover the roots of his own madness before it’s too late and he finds himself following in the footsteps of the man from Milwaukee?

**Get the book for 40% off when you buy from the publisher !!**

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Would you like a chance to win a $20 Amazon gift card or an ebook copy of the horror novel THIRD EYE? Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

Why I Wrote The Man from Milwaukee

by Rick R. Reed

As a writer, the question I get asked more than any other is, “where do you get your ideas?” If I’m grumpy, I might snap, “From the dollar store—a buck for a dozen,” but usually, I do try to satisfy the questioner’s curiosity in a sincere way.

Why write a book centered around serial killer and cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer? The first reason that springs to mind if I’m honest is that I’ve always been fascinated by true crime and serial killers in particular. Before you get the wrong idea, I am about as mild-mannered as they come. But the psyches of twisted people have always fascinated me because I think we’re all a combination of good and evil, of angels and demons, of secrets we might not want anyone else to know. Now, for most of us, those things are, of course, not in line with homicidal leanings, but I think we can all agree that life is comprised of both shadows and light, for all of us.

My main character, Emory Hughes, is one of those people. He is the main character of the book and it’s through his unreliable eyes we see the arrest of Dahmer and why he tries to contact him in prison. He’s surprised when Dahmer writes back to him, but believes they share a bond—they’re both self-loathing homosexuals who would change if they could. In Dahmer, Emory Hughes sees a kind of peer or friend. This is how twisted his mind is and how great his hatred toward his own homosexual leanings are.

After the book describes this sick fascination shortly after Dahmer’s arrest in July of 1991, Emory writes to the killer for the first time:

Dear Mr. Dahmer,

You don’t know me, although our paths might have crossed one night on one of your visits to Chicago. But I doubt that. I’m sure I’d remember if you and I had ever been in the same room.

I wanted to take a moment and write to let you know there’s one person out here who understands what you’re going through. I fight my own demons, day after day, and know that sometimes our best intentions get crushed under the weight of needs we have no way of understanding, let alone escaping, try as we might to be good.

I know.

I know what a horrible thing it can be to be compelled to do things you know are wrong, evil, but for whatever reason, you’re built to be unable to resist these needs. I have them. To some degree, I suspect we all do. Yours are much worse than the average person, yes, but that doesn’t mean you wanted to feel the things you felt. Things that drove you to do what the papers say you did…

Anyway, if you get this letter, I’d love to hear back from you. I know right now the whole country hates you and gazes at your face with horror. But I don’t. I see a young man like myself, confused and full of pain because he can’t help being who he is.

We’re both twisted. In different ways, but I do know what you’re going through right now, believe it or not. I see you sitting in a cell, maybe relieved now that your hands have been tied, so to speak.

You can be good now.

I envy that, just a little bit.

I wish I could be good. I’ll keep trying, but it seems like the harder I battle the demons inside, the more they persist.

Anyway, if you get this (I don’t know how mail to prisoners works—I’ve never written to anyone in jail before), please take the time to consider me a friend you can talk to.

I’ll be anxiously awaiting your response.

Very truly yours,

Emory Hughes

I’m excited to be one of many tour hosts sharing information on The Man From Milwaukee by Rick R. Reed.

The Horrors Hiding In Plain Sight by Rebecca Rowland

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Rebecca Rowland is the transgressive dark fiction author of the short story collection The Horrors Hiding in Plain Sight, co-author of the novel Pieces, and curator of the horror anthologies Ghosts, Goblins, Murder, and Madness; Shadowy Natures, and the upcoming The Half That You See and Unburied. Her writing has appeared in venues such as Coffin Bell, Waxing & Waning, and the

WiHM online collections The Ones You Don’t Bring Home to Mama and Final Girls with 20/20 Vision and has been anthologized in collections by Red Room Press, Transmundane Press, Forty-Two Books, Emerald Bay Books, Twisted Wing Productions, Thurston Howl Publications, J. Ellington Ashton Press, and Dark Ink. To surreptitiously stalk her, visit RowlandBooks.com.


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The Horrors Hiding in Plain Sight by Rebecca Rowland ~ Genre: Psychological Horror, Transgressive Dark Fiction, Short Stories

Three adolescent bullies discover that the vicious crime for which they were never charged will haunt them in unimaginably horrific ways; a dominatrix and a bondage fetishist befriend one another as one’s preoccupation grows to consume his life. A man persuades his wife to start a family, but her reluctant pregnancy comes with a dreadful side effect. A substitute teacher’s curiosity about a veteran teacher’s methodology provides her with a lesson she won’t soon forget. An affluent, xenophobic lawyer callously kills two immigrants with her car with seeming impunity; a childless couple plays a sadistic game with a neglected juvenile each Halloween. An abusive father, a dating site predator, a neglected concierge, and an obsessed co-worker: they are all among the residents of Rebecca Rowland’s universe, and they dwell in the everyday realm of crime and punishment tempered with fixation and madness. There are no vampires, zombies, or magical beings here; no, what lurk in this world are even more terrifying. Once you meet them, you will think twice before turning your back on that seemingly innocuous neighbor or coming to the aid of the helpless damsel in the dark parking lot. These monsters don’t lurk under your bed or in the shadows: they are the people you see every day at work, in the supermarket, and in broad daylight. They are the horrors that hide in plain sight, and they will unsettle you more than any supernatural being ever could.

Trigger Warning:

Contains graphic violence (though not continually) including accidental death, murder, and suicide; sexual content, and occasional graphic language. Sexual assault is implied but not described in a graphic nature. No animals are harmed. 

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Would you like a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card? Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

Guest blog: The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste: Insanity as a Horror Trope

by Rebecca Rowland

Everyone is scared of something. Occasionally, as I am a fan of scary movies, this topic will come up in everyday conversation with friends. Kelly is freaked out by nuns. Kevin is squeamish about sharp objects being placed in the throat. And Lily once confessed that she is terrified of squirrels (a valid concern, I recently learned, after reading another friend’s social media post describing a bushy-tailed rodent’s attack of her while she was on a walk. No, I didn’t share the anecdote with Lily.) Biting, or anything involving sharp teeth, used to do it for me, but a few rides on The Walking Dead bandwagon seemed to eradicate the trigger, even as the children of NOS4A2 push for a likely return.

Perhaps it’s a by-product of age, but my fears have shifted. Now, the only thing that scares me on a visceral level is the possibility of losing my sanity, my mind being out of my own control. It follows, then, that most of what I write, read, and watch falls under the category of psychological fiction, a sub-genre that relies mostly on the mental state (and sometimes, instability) of its characters.

In her 2018 article in The Guardian, Sarah Gonnet discusses the clichés of mental illness often employed by horror. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/oct/31/halloween-horror-film-mental-illness-scary-cliches Agreed, the loss of sanity is a trope that has existed in horror long before Henry Jekyll and Bertha Mason. Sometimes, the mentally ill person is, inarguably, the threat, as in the case of psychopaths. Peter and Paul of Funny Games (1997 and 2007) never waver in their total lack of empathy, and it’s their willingness to do just about anything to anyone that makes the film so unsettling.  Other times, it is the nebulous nature of the threat that delivers the most chills. The title character in Martha Marcy May Malone (2011) is a survivor of a cult who appears to be experiencing paranoid delusions, but no matter how many times I watch the movie, I cannot decide if she is a sympathetic sufferer of PTSD or a sleeper agent. I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2016) by Iain Reid (soon to be a Netflix feature by Charlie Kaufman) is one of the best psychological thrillers I’ve read in some time, simply because the reader’s understanding is reliant on the narrator’s skewed point-of-view, even as the story slips into confused ominosity like a stealthily-placed hallucinogen.

Temple University’s Meaghan Burke criticizes the genre for stereotyping those who suffer from mental illness as monsters, and her points are not without merit. https://temple-news.com/horror-movies-perpetuate-mental-illness-stigma/ As of 2019, NIHM estimates that one in five Americans live with a mental illness, https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness.shtml and I can only assume that the Co-Vid pandemic has exacerbated that statistic. However, more often than not, it is the illness itself, not its sufferer, who is the villain in most stories. In Stephen King’s The Shining (1977), the hotel uses Jack as its vehicle for destruction just as it did its former caretaker, Grady. We’re supposed to identify with Danny, his young son, or even Wendy, his wife, but I think there’s a case to be made to sympathize with Jack as well. The most frightening part of the story is how easily the madness envelopes Jack like a warm bath. The hotel amplifies his weaknesses, addiction and feelings of failure, until Jack can do nothing but succumb to its directive. He is a victim as much as his family is.

The scariest part of Rosemary’s Baby (1967) isn’t the likelihood that the sweet elderly couple next door is part of a satanic cult on a mission to impregnate a naive young wife but rather, that when she discovers the plot, everyone, even her trusted obstetrician, dismisses her claims as raving lunacy. Similarly, the film Swallow (2020) follows a newly pregnant woman who develops pica, a disorder where the sufferer ingests inedible objects, and the terror comes not from watching her consume larger and more disturbing items, but from empathizing with the terrible isolation the protagonist feels having no one in which to confide. Burke calls out M. Night Shyamalan’s Split (2016) as perpetuating the stigma associated with mental illness by casting an individual with dissociative identity disorder as the villain. Yes, the kidnapper may be someone with DID, but as the more sympathetic personalities present, it’s clear that it’s the illness itself, and not the individual, who is the real sadist.

I certainly don’t wish for those who suffer from such ailments to feel even more stigmatized than they already do. Perhaps by experiencing the horrors faced by those affected by mental illness through the detached filter of literature and film, readers and viewers will replace their misunderstanding with empathy. 

I’m excited to be one of many tour hosts sharing information about The Horrors Hiding in Plain Sight by Rebecca Rowland.

Blood Never Washes Out by C. C. Scharon

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Blood Never Washes Out

by C.C. Scharon

Genre: Suspense, Thriller

A deathbed promise—a secret kept for decades…
Everything about DEA Agent Jake Castillo’s life is a lie and he doesn’t know it. Seeing two fellow agents killed right before his eyes has left him with PTSD and a thirst for revenge on the drug lord who murdered them. He vows to bring El Toro to justice.
When the enigmatic Gabriella abducts him, Jake wakes up a week later in his San Diego home with no memory of what happened. Convinced his kidnapping was not a random act, he ignores department policy and returns to Colombia to unravel the secrets of his past.
But can he live with the truth?

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A fan of dark and dangerous medieval Scotland, Connie C. Scharon published her first Scottish historical romance in June of 2013. The success of that book led to eight other romance novels, but Connie wanted to mix things up a little.

Her medical background gave her a desire to create stories that wove her hospital experiences, visits to the morgue, and tours of the forensic lab into crime-focused novels.

In 2020, writing as C. C. Scharon, she transitioned from her romance roots into mystery and suspense with the international thriller BLOOD NEVER WASHES OUT.

Connie is a life-long resident of Maryland. She belongs to multiple professional organizations, including Pennwriters, Romance Writers of American, and Maryland Writers Association.

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Would you like a chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card? Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

For as long as I can remember I loved stories, so it seemed natural that I wrote them. I can’t pick any specific date when I started, and I guess I’ve never stopped. My husband sent me on the path of doing it professionally when I expressed my desire to write a book. He told me to stop talking about it and get to work. The first novel I completed will never see the light of day, but I learned a great deal fleshing out a complete book. It was written in long hand in spiral notebooks that I kept in my nightstand. You never know when a good idea is going to hit you. It could be the middle of the night. Now I go to my office and boot up my computer if I must record my thoughts immediately. Several tries later, I got some viable manuscripts, which later made it into print.

What I love most about writing is the author’s God-like ability over everything that happens. What characters do, what dangers they face, who lives, and who dies. Your story is the only place in the world you can control fate of everyone. The only limit is your imagination. It is the greatest feeling in the world when the story catches fire and almost seems to write itself.

A fan of dark and dangerous medieval Scotland, my first books were Scottish historical romances that took place in the 1300s. When I visited Scotland, it captured my imagination and resulted in eight books I later dubbed the Highland Legends series. These were all published under Connie C. Scharon, while my new venture into mystery and suspense is penned by my alias C. C. Scharon. I wanted to separate the two genres as they are for distinct audiences.

When I begin a book, I start with an inciting incident, the main factor that gets the whole story rolling. I know then how I want it to end, but little else. As the story progresses, I begin a rough outline consisting of a few sentences about what scenes will happen in each chapter. My favorite part to write is the big finale where all the pieces come together with a few extra twists. After all, I wrote the whole book to get to it.

I’m excited to be one of many hosts sharing information on Blood Never Washes Out!