Renee S. DeCamillis is the author of the psychological thriller/supernatural horror novella The Bone Cutters, published through Eraserhead Press as part of their 2019 New Bizarro Authors Series.
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The Bone Cutters – Horror Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Supernatural Horror, Bizarro Fiction, Addiction Horror, a novella from the 2019 New Bizarro Author Series from Eraserhead Press.
Today, I am happy to welcome Toni Verticelli, author of Chaos Calls, as a guest.
Let’s start by finding out a little bit about you…
What is your name and do you write under a pen name? Toni Verticelli, my maiden name.
Where do you call home? Ocala, FL
Obviously, we know you are an author, but some writers have other jobs as well. Do you have another occupation? Do you believe you’re any good at it? Do you like what you do? I was a CNA for 14 years up until recently. I absolutely loved it, I found it very rewarding. I had to stop because of problems resulting from being hit by a drunk driver.
What is your family like? They are a big bunch of loving weirdos, just like me.
If it doesn’t bother you, can you let us know what your childhood home looked like? I moved a lot actually, Navy brat.
Do you have any hobbies, other than writing? What do you enjoy doing? I love to sing and have done several benefits for the performing arts, and one for the Alzheimer’s Association. I also really love gardening and painting furniture.
What is your greatest dream? Watching my daughter grow up. Living the dream now.
Not to pry too much, but do you remember your first love? Yes, married him. Also divorced him.
What or who inspired you to start writing? And how long have you been writing? I had an amazing teacher in the 7th grade who realized I was dyslexic and got me into writing.
What was your dream growing up? Did you achieve that dream? If so, in what ways was it not what you expected? If you never achieved the dream, why not? I desperately wanted to be a singer. Became a writer that sings for fundraisers and benefits. Life throws some pretty strange curveballs.
Who is your role model? I admire so many people that I couldn’t pick just one.
What is your greatest fear? Caving. I have a terrible fear of caving into the things that frighten me. We really are our own obstacles in life.
Do you prefer e-books, paperbacks, hard-covers or audio-books? Yes, I prefer all of them.
Have you ever read a book more than once? And if so what was it? Oomph, ask the hard question! I’ve read the entire Pern series by Anne McCaffrey several times.
What is your opinion of novellas? I don’t have one. There is no such thing as a guilty pleasure, on what makes you happy. If you like novellas, awesome. If you like graphic novels and comic books, awesome. Play, fabulous. Read what makes you happiest.
Have you ever read a book just based on its cover? The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley. I was pretty young when I came across it in a library. I had never seen a book where the dragon fighting hero was the princess. I own both The Hero and theCrown and it’s companion, The Blue Sword.
What is your favorite film based on a book? The Labyrinth.
What is your favorite book genre at the moment? Again, I don’t have one really. I pick up books, I read them and I either read more by that author or I don’t ever go near the book again.
What book are you reading at the moment? And in what format? The Master Harper of Pern by Anne McCaffrey. I’ve lost count how many times. Paperback.
Let’s shift somewhat and talk about your latest story.
What is the name of your most recent book and if you had to sum it up in 20 or fewer words, what would you say? Currently I am working on Chaos Calls.
Is the above book part of a series? I’m hoping it will be
How did you come up with the cover? Who designed the cover of your book(s)? I haven’t had a cover done yet.
Did you listen to any particular songs while writing your book(s)? Classical. Auditory brain food.
How did you come up with the title for your book(s)? A line in the book, actually.
Do you have a book trailer? If so, where can we watch it? No, and I haven’t ever made one in the past.
In your latest novel, who is the lead character and can you tell us a little about him/her? Katya Malloy, 6th of the name. Her family is a powerful matriarchy.
What are your character’s greatest strengths? Perseverance and sarcasm.
And what are his/her greatest weaknesses? Gullibility and stubbornness
What’s a positive quality that your character is unaware that he or she has? Adaptability. With everything that’s thrown at her, she is able to adapt to the situation better that she realizes.
Will readers like or dislike this character, and why? I hope they will love her character. She is easy familiarize with.
Let’s talk now about your writing process.
What is your writing style like? Are you a pantster or a plotter? Total Plotter.
Have you come across any specific challenges in writing or publishing? What would you do differently the next time? RESEARCH, and English classes early on.
Are you a self-published/Indie author or did you publish through a traditional publishing company? Self-published currently, though looking to publish Chaos Calls traditionally.
If you’re a self-published/Indie author what made you go that route instead of the traditional publishing route? I had no intention of publishing my first books, they were more therapy for me. I had just left my ex husband, had a toddler and was starting over. Writing gave me an outlet,
What’s the best advice that you have been given when it comes to writing? Get it all out on paper, then organize when you run out. Don’t edit as you go, or you are going to be stuck in a perfection rut.
What advice would you give someone who wants to start writing? Do it, even if it’s just for you. Get it all out.
Recently retired, Frederick Pangbourne now resides in Florida. The ex-Marine has been a fan of the horror genre since childhood in both literature and films. He has three horror anthologies of his own now out in publication and is currently working on a fourth. His latest is Nightmares of the Damned.
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Frederick Pangbourne, author of the ‘Reflection in the Abyss’ horror anthologies, presents his third anthology of the frightful world of the macabre collected in 19 short stories of extreme fear. Nightmares of the Damned will sweep you into a realm of inevitable horror where man does not escape their grisly fate once they step through. Follow a returning crusader home on his final confrontation with evil. Venture across a seemingly harmless sand box which hides an unseen death. Open an abandoned trunk in a basement and discover its monstrous contents. Visit a psychiatric ward where an old photograph holds a hellish secret. These stories and others await those within these pages as the reader enters into the Nightmares of the Damned.
Robert P. Ottone delights in the creepy. He is an author, teacher, and cigar enthusiast from East Islip, NY.
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From waking fears to heart-breaking nightmares, this collection of short fiction is a glimpse into the terrors we face every day from the mind of Robert P. Ottone.
In “The Arborist,” a woman hears the mysterious call of the forest.
Five friends exploring an archipelago find themselves set upon by the island’s hungry inhabitants in “The Monitors.”
A young woman confronts the mystery of her infertility in “Kelly Watch the Stars.”
These works are joined by the title novella, Her Infernal Name, about the cruel intersection of desire and desperation, and many other stories crafted in the hopes of keeping you up at night.
By day, a mild-mannered salesperson, wife, mother, rescuer of senior shelter dogs, competitive trivia player and author groupie, happily living just north of New York City. By night, an author of sex, suspense and satire!
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SAVING GRACE – “A psychological thriller with more than enough twists, turns, and misdirection to keep even the most jaded reader turning pages all night long.” –Lori Robbins, author of the Silver Falchion Award-winning novel, Lesson Plan for Murder
Grace Pierrepoint Rendell, the only child of an ailing billionaire, has been treated for paranoia since childhood. When she secretly quits her meds, she begins to suspect that once her father passes, her husband will murder her for her inheritance. Realizing that no one will believe the ravings of a supposed psychotic, she devises a creative way to save herself—she will write herself out of danger, authoring a novel with the heroine in exactly the same circumstances, thus subtly exposing her husband’s scheme to the world. She hires acclaimed author Lynn Andrews to help edit her literary insurance policy, but when Lynn is murdered, Grace is discovered standing over the bloody remains. The clock is ticking: can she write and publish her manuscript before she is strapped into a straitjacket, accused of homicide, or lowered six feet under?
With a cast of secondary characters whose challenges mirror Grace’s own, Saving Grace is, at its core, an allegory for the struggle of the marginalized to be heard and live life on their own terms.
For Kristy Smith, writing is her passion and writing about vampires gets her blood flowin’. Growing up in Michigan and spending time in several parts of the world has provided her with unique perspectives and innumerable opportunities for storytelling.
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Turning Point – Adam is the resident vampire in a small college town in Michigan. It’s the same scenario every night: wander campus, snag a co-ed for dinner, get home before dawn. Rinse. Repeat–until an irresistible new professor appears. From the shadows, he follows her every footstep, lurking, until he witnesses a tragic accident. As life drains from the object of his desire, he is faced with an impossible choice: Should he intervene or not?
22 years later, Alice Peterson is well on her way to graduating from college. Her life and goals are set, and her future is bright. But Alice meets Adam and a tempestuous wind portends a different fate. Thrust into a world she thought to be fictitious, Alice must rely on wit, cunning and newfound powers if she hopes to survive. Adam will do what he must to keep Alice from learning too much about her past, including the unthinkable.
No good deed goes unpunished as familial bonds are pushed to their limit and new relationships are tested. Filled with action and bloodlust-fueled drama, read on to unlock the mystery when Alice reaches her Turning Point.
Kassandra Flamouri holds a degree in Music from the Sunderman Conservatory of Gettysburg College, which she uses to moonlight as a folk musician while juggling writing, teaching, and earning a second degree.
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The Chalice and the Crown – Driven, talented, and determined to live up to her family’s fame, Sasha Nikolayeva is ballet’s crown princess. But just when Sasha lands her most prestigious role yet, she falls prey to a host of disturbing neurological symptoms that threaten to end her career and her very life. As her mind and body deteriorate, Sasha spirals into a nightmare world where beauty and cruelty exist in the same breath and villains rule from the shadows.
In the glittering, sharp-edged City of Roses, Sasha is no princess. She’s a thrall, a slave. Thousands like her suffer in cursed silence while citizens enjoy the splendor of the City, blissfully unaware that their servants are anything more than living dolls enchanted to do their bidding. But the City’s slavers know the truth, and they are always watching. One misstep could cost Sasha her life—or her soul.
Even as she endures the violence and indignity of captivity, Sasha can’t help being drawn to the beauty of her nightmare world and the underground rebels who offer her friendship, shelter, even love. Before Sasha can break her chains for good, she’ll need to choose between the life waiting for her at home and the countless lives she could save if she stays. To choose a nightmare over her real life, her future, would be madness…but maybe a little madness is just what it takes to change the fate of a city built on lies.
Douglas Ford is the author of the recent collection of weird fiction, Ape in the Ring. His short stories have appeared in such venues as Dark Moon Digest, Tales to Terrify, Weird City, as well as The Best Hardcore Horror, Volumes 3 and 4.
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APE IN THE RING – From the author of The Reattachment comes a frightening and twisted collection of stories that demonstrates Douglas Ford’s imagination at its best.
In these stories, a woman uncovers the buried memory of how she once disappeared inside the house of a murderer; a father waits and waits for his son to come out of a playground structure, unprepared for what finally does emerge; a group of foster children play an unconventional form of divination while protecting a secret together; the closet of a hotel room hides an unspeakable voyeur; and in the title story, a carnival offers ritualized combat with something that may or not be an ape.
Douglas Ford wields language like a sinister surgeon with a night-black scalpel. These stories cut down to the bone, exposing the darkness that lies just beneath the surface of our everyday world. This collection is a midnight carnival of dark wonders, terrifying and fascinating in equal measure. –Bram Stoker Award-Winning Author, Tim Waggoner
Ape in the Ring and Other Tales of the Macabre and Uncanny is a must have collection for every horror library. Douglas Ford crafts stories that are disturbing, dripping with atmosphere, and claustrophobically frightening. You will be thinking about this book long after you have set it down. -Bram Stoker Award-Winning Author, Owl Goingback
Kelly Marsden is a Yorkshire author who writes fantasy stories. Her first book, The Shadow Rises (Witch-Hunter #1), was published in January 2013 and she now has several successful series under her belt.
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With Midwinter just around the corner, Mark’s Nanna decides that it is time he learnt more about his family heritage. Learning witchcraft shouldn’t be too difficult, right? Balancing school, magic, and the distractions of the gorgeous new guy, should make this a very interesting winter.
Meet Liane Carmen, author of the Investigation Duo Series. Like most authors, Liane hopes that her readers will vouch for her if her Google search history ever comes into question!
LIKE – SUBSCRIBE – AND COMMENT BELOW TO BE ENTERED FOR A CHANCE TO WIN AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ‘WHERE THE TRUTH HIDES’ BY LIANE CARMEN!!!
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Buried secrets can be deadly.
Becky Morgan has a life most women would envy until a car accident lands her in the hospital. She insists she’s fine, but it quickly becomes clear she’s changed. She’s forgetful, paranoid, short-tempered. Her husband wants to write off her change in personality to the IVF hormones she’s taking in an attempt to get pregnant.
Becky’s best friend, Jules Dalton, is a gorgeous, single woman, with a habit of sabotaging relationships. When Jules loses the man who could have been “the one,” she confronts the realization that being adopted at birth is contributing to her trust issues. She’s obsessed with finding out why she was given up and turns to DNA testing in hopes her matches will lead to her birth parents.
As Jules dives into her DNA results, Becky’s life soon becomes one she doesn’t recognize. Those closest to her are accusing her of things she simply can’t explain or remember. She’s terrified of losing everything: her career, her marriage, and her dream of becoming a mother.
Desperate to put the pieces of her shattered life back together, Becky needs her best friend more than ever. What she doesn’t realize is that Jules knows something that could explain everything away.
Becky has a dark past she’s unaware of. A darkness that’s coming for her.
It could also get her killed.
As a young girl, Donna Thomas tragically lost her mother and sibling. Her wealthy father has been emotionally absent ever since. As an adult, he refused to help, insisting she had to find her own way in life. When he dies, Donna’s convinced this is her chance to get what she deserves. After all, there is no other family.
But then his will deals her an unexpected blow. The estate is to be shared, not only with a mysterious stranger, but also a half-sister Donna didn’t know existed. It’s bad enough she has to share her father’s money, but his last words stipulate she doesn’t get a penny of her inheritance until she locates her half-sister.
Angry and bitter, Donna turns to Becky and Jules who’ve just opened the doors of their new detective agency. Having solved family mysteries of their own, they’re now ready to help others. As they follow the trail Donna’s father left behind, it becomes clear someone else is on the hunt as well. One accidental death in their path could be coincidental, but when it looks like the mystery beneficiary has been murdered, they don’t know who to trust.
As Becky and Jules scramble to find the connection behind Donna’s father and the murdered stranger, they worry time is running out. If they want to find Donna’s half-sister alive, they had better find her fast, because someone else seems to be one sinister step ahead of them—they want what’s theirs, and they’re prepared to kill anyone who gets in their way.
Nina Soden 