Dark, soulful tales that haunt long after the last page.
There was a 10-year period that pretty much shaped my world, providing the cultural touchstones by which all things that came after would be measured. I suppose it’s that way for most people. For me, that time period would have been about 1975-1985; that would be from the ages of nine to 19. What makes…
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck My rating: 5 of 5 stars I’m not sure how many times I’ve read The Grapes of Wrath. I know this is the sixth year I’ve taught it in my AP Literature class. Since it is the 75th anniversary of the book’s publication and my group of AP…
Is there a more controversial topic among writers than the dreaded one about publishing your own work? Probably not. As little as 10 years ago it was unthinkable for anyone aspiring to commercial success to even consider vanity publishing. Of course, back then it was pretty dang expensive, unless you got tied up with a…
Dark Matter by Michelle Paver My rating: 4 of 5 stars Nobody writes a ghost story like a Brit. Dark Matter is a slow-building ghost story in the perfect setting for such a thing, the frozen wasteland of the Arctic during that time when there is no sunlight. It has been a long, long time…
Fire and Ash by Jonathan Maberry My rating: 3 of 5 stars I can’t remember the last time I read through an entire series so fast. All four books in just about two months, with a couple of other books thrown in. That’s pretty fast for me. Despite that, as I’ve said with the previous…
Stone Thread Publishing has my novella Inheritance up for pre-order on the Smashwords site. You can reserve your copy right here. It will be available through Amazon’s Kindle on the April 1 release date. Also, issues between Stone Thread and Apple have been resolved, so it will be available in that format, too. But I could…
Flesh & Bone by Jonathan Maberry My rating: 3 of 5 stars Benny, Benny, Benny. How many times will you find yourself facing impossible odds only to be miraculously rescued by some stranger who steps out of nowhere? How many times will you or Nix mention jets and make me mentally sing, “B-B-Benny and the…
The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition by Anne Frank My rating: 3 of 5 stars I’m really torn on this one. On the one hand, the writing is absolutely amazing for a 13 to 15-year-old girl. Her vocabulary, syntax, and insight is incredible. Most modern American teenagers would be put to shame…
I have reached an agreement that allows Stone Thread Publishing to release the electronic version of my novella Inheritance. The release date is April 1, 2014. Here’s what I’ve submitted for the synopsis of the book: Lynette Cook knows about abuse. She learned it from her father and, later, had the lessons reinforced by the boyfriend…
Dust and Decay by Jonathan Maberry My rating: 3 of 5 stars I didn’t love Rot & Ruin, but I liked it well enough to find out what happened next. I don’t regret continuing with the series. I went through this one pretty quick, so obviously it was a decent read. My issues with this…