Pandora's Box, A Review

This time I'm reviewing Pandora's Box by Joanna Parypinski, published by Damnation Books. I came across this book on Facebook, as the author asked for people interested in reviewing her new book. It took me some time to jump in the boat as the cover art made me fret this was yet another vampire book. However, the blurb won me over and boy, am I happy I took the chance.

Pandora's Box is the story of Maria Vakros, a woman fighting her own demons in order to reclaim control of her life as she and her husband, a teacher by trade, start anew in the small town of Sickle Falls. Leaving behind the big city of Chicago, they buy a quaint old house in the nicer part of town with a beautiful view of the lake, but hiding in the shadows of the basement lies an ancient horror waiting to be unleashed. It has infected the whole town, even causing the previous owners untimely deaths.

The plot is well constructed, weaving five different stories without making it confusing nor heavy. At all times the narrative is fluid and interesting, the sense of doom and horror is well transmitted without the overuse of adjectives. The story starts slowly, building on the mystery and creating a menacing atmosphere, and though there are segments quite violent, it never gets too graphic or gory. I found particularly refreshing the rich vocabulary Parypinski uses, it has been a while since a book made me open a dictionary, and though I always thank an author who teaches me something, when the uncommon vocabulary forces you to interrupt the reading in order to look for a word, it gets in the way of enjoying the book. I mean, if you use obscure words that the reader can deduct from the general context, you're okay, but don't over do it or you risk looking like a snub. Now, Parypinski doesn't go to that extreme but once, so we won't hold it against her.

The characters are interesting and complex and each individual story builds to a final crescendo that has all kinds of unexpected turns. Parypinski's style is refreshing, almost poetic in her descriptions, giving the horrors depicted a tragic and twisted feeling. It is outstanding how much information the author manages to convey and still leave the reader craving for more, in particular when relating the story of the box, and yet the ending feels a bit abrupt; but knowing how difficult it is to find the perfect balance between giving closure to a character's story and simply going too far, I think Parypinski's decision to give the final word to one of the side characters is an interesting one that explains the insertion of the box's story and allows for a small moral very apropos.

I highly recommend Pandora's Box to every horror lover, even the squeamish ones as there's something for everyone in this mystery/horror. An outstanding story edited to perfection, Pandora's Box shows small presses can be every bit as professional as the Big Six.

For more information on the author, go to her website Pandora's Pen. If you want to add this book to your TBR pile, go here.

Possessions, Ghosts, and Everything Horror. Why do we like them so much?

With October fast approaching, horror fans all over the world are salivating over the many movies we'll enjoy in theaters everywhere. Already The Possession has earned a total of 33 million dollars and opened as the number one movie during its debut weekend, and it's only september! With movies like V/H/S and Paranormal Activity 4 which claim to be the scariest movie ever and the scariest franchise ever, respectively, it seems there are no limits to what a good trailer can sell, no matter how disappointing the actual films turn out to be. Truth is, as the last film gets ripped apart by devotees and critics, there will always be those who still enjoy the ride, and no sooner the big screen fades into blackness, the new 'scarier/gorier/most realistic film ever' is released.

But if you still doubt about the genre popularity, don't look further than your own TV. Celebrity Ghost Stories, Ghostly Encounters, My Ghost Story, and Haunted Collector are but a fraction of the dozens of shows that have sprout in recent years. The fact is that the Horror Genre is not only alive, but has gone mainstream in a big way and our hunger for 'True Stories' is more avid than ever.

Hauntings, exorcisms, demons, and ghosts are no longer a once-in-a-year fest, but a year-round-spook-galore. Suddenly vampires (hello Damon!) are more popular than doctors (Dr. McWho?) and being a Ghost Hunter can allow you to quit your day job as a plumber. But, why on earth is it that we are so interested in the paranormal? This, my friends, is the million dollar question and if you're able to answer it, you might be able to ride the paranormal wave all the way to the bank.

In my case, I've always been interested in the paranormal. It is a mysterious field where no answer is definitive and no one can be certain of the truth. I have learned not to believe everything that I hear, and I know most of those shows 'based on real stories' use the term 'based' very loosely. Still, there's a part of me that finds an inordinate amount of pleasure in the rumor that the lyrics of Hotel California really told the story of Anton Lavey's satanic congregation. Why? Because there's a special beauty in folklore, because some mysteries are better left unveiled, because if we believe that there's dark behind the curtain, then it means there is light as well.

So, tell me, are you a fan?

A New Blogfest, A Little Complaining, and a Book Review

Awesome blogger and writer Mina Lobo is having a hell of a good time at her blog, Some Dark Romantic, celebrating its first anniversary. Of course, a blogfest is in order and the theme of this one is: Resurrection. But don't fret, this celebration does not wander into the realms of the philosophical, instead it focuses on the road we as bloggers have travelled to get where we are. Remember that amazingly clever post you wrote back when nobody stopped by your blog? Well, Mina is inviting all of us who would like to resurrect a post like that. November 7th is the day for your old post to come back to life. There will be amazon gift cards for the winners, and it will be a lot of fun. If you are interested, check out the rules and details here. I'd love to read an old jewel of yours and can't wait to share mine with you.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled review. This time it is the turn of Carole Gill's The House on Blackstone Moor.


The House on Blackstone Moor is a beautifully written gothic novel full of suspense and plot twists. It is narrated by the main character, Rose Baines, the sole survivor of her family's massacre carried out by her own father. In fact, she's the one who discovers the bodies caked with blood and horribly twisted. When police arrives, they find the young woman in such a state of shock that it's decided she needs to be committed. So begins the difficult path this character has to travel in order to find her place in a world of darkness she can't escape.

You always hear how important it is to have a strong first page to draw in your readers; Carole Gill does that amazingly, showing off her gift to describe horrid scenes with simple, elegant words that serve so well to the gothic style. The story grabs you immediately, the characters are believable and very soon we root for this poor girl who has gone through such a terrible experience. The rest of the characters keep the action going and I never felt bored, though it is until three quarters of the book have passed that the first vampire is revealed as such. For a book described by its author as a story of vampirism, it is rather late in the game that vampiric lore is introduced. It is at this point that the darkest side of the story is unveiled, finally embracing its paranormal secrets.

The book is edited to perfection, letting the prose shine in all its romantic glory without grammatical mistakes or typos to distract us. Carole Gill is a gifted author I've been following for some time now, and even though I don't think The House on Blackstone Moor is her best piece, it succeeds in showing her great talent as a wordsmith and inventor of dark worlds. I can't wait for whatever else this author has in store.

Time for a Break?

Summer is finally over, school is back and with it a sense of order returns to our lives. At least for mothers and fathers it does, anyway. We look at our messy house and sigh a sigh of relieve. We survived the insufferable attack of our kids under the influence of too much leisure time, too much sugar, and heat waves. We greet our old friend Silence as we sit at our desks and open our computers, ready to retake control of our writerly dues.

With this welcome change of pace comes another Insecure Writers meeting, and how wonderful! I could actually hear my thoughts as I mulled over what route to take for this latest installment. Given that I haven't been able to write much lately, I decided to talk about rejection. When is it time to pull the plug on a story and let it go into the archives labeled as 'For Future Analysis?"

I have three short stories I considered finished by the beginning of summer. In fact, two of those I've been trying to publish for a little over four months; for the last piece, a Flash Fiction, although I finished it over a year ago, it's only recently that I decided I was interested in publishing it. So far I've garnered four rejection letters for the shorts and both are presently being considered by a fifth mag. No word on weather they have already read them and are thinking about it, or if they're still on the slush pile. You know how it goes.

The flash, though, I only submitted to two publications. Both rejected it, but the latest was awesome enough to actually write back with a series of commentaries as to why they had found the story wasn't up to their standards. It was so good and refreshing! Finally someone telling me what I'm doing wrong, at least to their eyes. After reading their mail, I re-read my piece, thought about it, considered their words, and found out there was so much more I could do to make the story better. Before submitting the story I had send it to a reader to get feedback, but still I guess I was too close to the story to notice many of its shortcomings. Now I'm now working on it, polishing it for a new round of queries.

Then, about the other two... A few months ago I came across a publication called The Rejected Quarterly which mission, they state, is to publish unusual fiction that doesn't fit anywhere else. The first requirement? Have at least five rejection letters for the piece you are submitting to them. My plan is to query both stories at least two more times (provided that this fifth time isn't the charm), then submit them to Rejected Quarterly, and if rejected again, file them for good.

I don't mean to let those stories gather dust forever and ever, but to let them rest a few years as my skills develop further and I become less attach to them. When I feel like it's the time to give them a new chance, or I have no new ideas (it can happen), then I'll revise them and make them pretty all over again.

I don't think a story is ever truly dead. It tugs at you to be told and weather you let it lay dormant for sometime, or you choose to tell in a whole different way, it will always find its way out of your mind. What do you think? How many rejections are enough for you? What do you do with those stories? I've always heard that you should let your stories breath between drafts to get a better perspective of them. I give three to six months before I go back to a story to work on a second draft, maybe I should leave more time. What do you think?

Peace Hop Blitz

As support for a friend, and because I think Peace is a great message we should talk about more often, I decided to take part on this Peace Hop Blitz. It was organized by the great author MCV Egan who wrote The Bridge of Deaths, a historical fiction based on a family story that happened in 1939, at the brink of World War II, that had big repercussions for many generations until present day.  It is a family's search for the truth, to uncover the secrets hidden under a horrific plane crash that cost the life of a man, and change the destiny of a clan.

Buy the Bridges of Death

So, about Peace... Well, Peace is much more that the opposite state of War. Most people think that because they don't live in a war-ridden country they don't have to worry about themes like this. They take peace for granted. Sadly, they couldn't be more wrong. Peace is much more that an international affair where two countries that can't seem to agree on something decide to go at it full force and with total disregard for their people. Peace is a state of mind, is a way of living. The girl on the shadiest part of town where gangs threaten her daily live can't feel the warm soft feeling we get when walking to the store or back home from school. The woman whose husband gets a kick out of basing her head in doesn't feel safe at home. They live in fear. Many, so many people's lives are far from peaceful.

We all can help in many ways; volunteering at the shelter or at a Big Brother program, donating time or money to other groups that bring help and orientation to difficult areas in our towns, advocating for healthy and positive activities for those who don't have the means, but most of all we can help by being conscious of these problems and by educating our kids with eyes and hearts open to see those in need and lend a hand. The future of our countries, and inherently of the world, will be in the hands of our kids, we can't afford to raise intolerance, idleness, or blindness. Let's bring peace to our neighborhoods one step at a time.

For more Peace talk click on these fabulous blogs and for the Giveaway follow the Rafflecopter and complete the steps. Great things await you!

A Piece of Peace
Amelia Curzon
Anne Chaconas, Writer 
Author Bette A. Stevens
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Book Purses
B o o k s 4 T o m o r r o w
b00kr3vi3ws
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Combermere Abbey 
Devoted Mommy of 3
Diary of a Writer in Progress
Get Lenin by Robert CravenGraciela Zozaya
Halley EliseHeaven's Garden Productions
Hope With Change
Joseph D. Smith
keeperofthesword
Lift You Up
Mallory Heart Reviews
margaret west
Nomi's Paranormal Palace
Opus 'N' Pen
Paulette Mahurin
Pavarti K Tyler at Fighting Monkey Press
R. Russell Bittner
Rise of the Vampire
Russell Bittner 
Simple Clockwork by Nancy Cudis
Tela's Notes
Tela Wallen Fiction
The Author Zackary Richards
The Bridge of Deaths
The Journey
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The story of a girl...
Think in ink
Wendy's Bookcase

Yvonne Mikell

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Most people interested in the Horror/Sci-fi genre have read at least one piece of Ray Bradbury. I'm ashamed to say I had not. Though I knew of his iconic stories, this was my first approximation at Bradbury's rich body of work which has claimed fame for awesome short stories and not so awesome novels.

Something Wicked This Way Comes was conceived as a script for a movie--based on the experiences of a young Bradbury--that didn't happen. It was after the movie deal fizzled that the famed author decided to revise the manuscript and turned it into a dark novel. The characters became malevolent and the iconic carnival was born.

The book tells the story of two boys, friends and neighbors, who are growing, maturing at different paces, yearning for different things, yet so happy to have one another. Then a carnival arrives in town, conspicuously too late in the year and too close to Halloween. Immediately you know somethings is not right, the carnival characters are just too dark, the maze of mirrors threatens to drown its visitors, the calliope sings without a touch, and the carrousel rides only after the last of the visitors has gone home.

From the first line the reader is stricken by Bradbury's rich vocabulary full of images and metaphors. He masterfully evokes images in our heads that range from a truly nostalgic ache for youth, to the horrific wonders this carnival from hell can offer you in exchange for your soul. The first few chapters are enthralling because of the beauty of his words and how much the prose feels like poetry; however, as chapters go by, the almost baroque narrative makes it hard to enjoy the time in front of the book.

On the other hand, the story is so compelling, it pushes the reader to never stop, to keep through to the end. The seemingly impossible odds against the boys must turn in their favor, don't they? I was so invested in the characters, I just had to know. Bradbury's characters jump out of the pages. I found the father, Mr. Halloway, particularly endearing. His nostalgia for his lost youth, his sadness for what he feels as a barrier between him and his son, his ultimate fortitude to confront the evil threatening the boys and his own fears. Mr. Halloway is truly a complex character that outshines the rest of the cast.

The other side of the dime, Mr. Dark, is a very simple man. He's evil, twisted, and cruel. He's older than sin and wants the soul of the boys, and everyone else's who gets in his way. And it's probably because of his simplicity that Mr. Dark is a very disturbing villain, too powerful for those poor boys. The dichotomy between the two older characters plays very well, making the reader tremble with fear as the boys must confront each of Mr. Dark's emissaries.

When reading Something Wicked This Way Comes, one is baring witness to one of the contemporary horror classics and there's no denying why it won such a status. Whether heavy narrative that reminds of Magic Realism is your thing or not, it is impossible not to admire a piece so beautifully written.

My advise for the reader would be to take on this book only if you have time. Pick it for a relaxing bath, or whenever you can give it a few hours to appreciate it. This is not a story to be read in one evening. You need to take the time for the complex vocabulary to sink in, to let its true meaning, its many morals and reflexions to touch your skin, trickle to your subconscious, and take residence in your heart.

DEAD: The Ugly Beginning, A Review

Zombies are everywhere these days, from the usual b-movies, to TV, to short stories, and lately even in novels. A lot of novels. But with such a deluge, authors are being forced to do the impossible: Reinvent a classic. Even traditionalists, honest-to-god-Romero-lovers are faced with the difficult task of surprising an audience that has been overwhelmed with pretty much the same beat-up story.

It is in this rarefied ambience that DEAD: The Ugly Beginning sets out to start a very ambitious saga. From the get go we are warned that we’ve been treated to the first of what will be a set of twelve books relating this particular zombie apocalypse. Then the action starts. The first third of the book is strong, plunging the reader right into the middle of the action. The characters are interesting, complex, and likable. Simply amazing. And the one-liners, Jesus! Brown is really at his best when crafting spunky dialog. The plot moves fast and there’s so much action, we can’t stop from turning the pages.

Brown’s characters are intelligent and act in a way consistent with their different backgrounds; they also make mistakes and pay for them dearly, which is a wave of fresh air in and out of itself. I found I was never able to foretell the next character that was about to die, adding to the fun.

As the story progressed, there were a few issues that took away from my original excitement. First, there are too many characters, some appear for a brief moment only to be dispatched by the undead, others are staples of the book which back stories are spread so far apart from one chapter to another, that we struggle to remember what was happening with them last time we came their way.

Also, whenever a character goes into a flashback, there is no change in the grammatical tense (say, going from past to present, for example) or point of view, and whatever is written in italics tends to change size from word to word, making the reading experience a bit confusing.

Now, I think there are enough clues pointing to a certain evolution in the zombie, though it is never clear and the characters don’t seem to pay attention to these changes. Is it possible that zombies can learn and are actually conscious, to some degree, of their situation? This would mean they have a low, but still threatening, degree of intelligence. It would certainly be a game changer and may send the surviving pieces of Human Race into a second purge that could very well end with it all. So looking forward to learn how well I read in between the lines!

Finally, I feel like I need to warn all the readers-to-be about the ending of DEAD. No, not spoiler alert should be issued, I’m not going to spill the beans about what’s going to happen to the most important character or ruin any possible plot twists. I just want you to know that DEAD, like so many serial books of our times, doesn’t have a neat ending with some sense of conclusion. It simply ends, leaving all plot lines open to continue in the second book of the series. And while it is a great selling strategy for your already captured audience, I wished we could leave this trend behind. What is it so unappealing about giving the readership some sense of resolution and still letting the door ajar just a bit so we can fathom what adventures may still await?

All nip-tuck aside, DEAD: The Ugly Beginning is a highly entertaining book. I loved the references to paramount pictures or phrases in the Zombie Lore, the sarcasm and intelligence of the narration, and the interesting plot ram-packed of action. I will be reading the second book in the series, waiting anxiously to know the fate of those fantastic characters I grew to love. Definitively a book to be read by every zombie fan who wants a bit of the classic with a lot of spark.

For more details about the book, click on the link.