Paranormal

Theresa Braun – Dead over Heels Review

David Spell Paranormal ,

Review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review

Dead over Heels is a bit more of a love story than I usually find myself reading, but in this case I couldn’t help it. I kept seeing such good reviews and had to check it out for myself.

Veronica wants to meet a nice guy but she has no luck. She does have an interest in ‘magic’ and the supernatural, so a candle ritual to meet a guy feels about right. Why not? What does she have to lose? Whether it was the candle ritual or a twist of fate she meets Sebastian. They have an instant connection and have both lost a loved one.

Veronica and Sebastian were characters I could easily relate to for the following reasons. It’s not often you feel you’ve known someone forever after just meeting, or the way you meet is just too crazy to be a coincidence, or when life throws you a rare and random chance at happiness you take it and don’t look back. After meeting Sebastian, life for Veronica is looking up and she thinks everything is great until a dinner date at restaurant turns strange.

Where is the horror you ask? I know, I review scary books not love stories. Dead over Heels has death, murder and betrayal, it’s not all puppies and rainbows. The story takes several dark turns I hadn’t expected plus a twist ending for Veronica. The ghosts of her past come back and their connection to the couple is more than either could imagine. Dead over Heels didn’t disappoint me. The good words I’d been hearing were right and this book is a fun read.

Book Info

Length: 38 Pages

Publisher: Frith Books

Release date: November 16, 2016

To Purchase Dead over Heels Click Here

Veronica’s first date with Sebastian not only stirs up a powerful attraction, but also a series of supernatural events that will tear them apart.

After countless hours of dead end online dating, Veronica meets up with Sebastian at a reportedly haunted restaurant, since he knows she has a fascination with the paranormal. While enjoying their meals and each other’s company, they share a shocking supernatural experience. Their romantic connection is overshadowed by the ghosts of their own pasts that threaten to destroy their budding relationship. Veronica decides she must return to the restaurant to face her past and dig up more answers. Unfortunately, she realizes she must go back, this time with a reluctant Sebastian. In the end, they join forces against the evil that stands between them, but will they make it out alive?

Theresa Braun, biography

Theresa Braun was born in St. Paul, Minnesota and has carried some of that hardiness with her to South Florida where she currently resides with her two fur babies, who are her creative sidekicks. She enjoys delving into creative writing, painting, photography and even bouts of ghost hunting. Traveling is one of her passions—in fact, her latest adventure took her to Romania for a horror writers’ workshop where she followed in the steps of Vlad the Impaler. She writes horror fiction and the occasional romance. Oh, and she likes to guest blog about writing, television shows, movies, and books, mostly in the horror genre. Her short story “Shout at the Devil” appears in Under the Bed Magazine, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” in Hindered Souls, and “Dead over Heels” is soon to be published by Frith Books.

Annie Walters – Barry’s Lodge Review

David Spell Dark Fiction, Paranormal, Thriller ,

Review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review

An abrupt and noticeably unpolished beginning made this story a tough go as I tried to settle in to this book. The chapters that followed felt disconnected from the epilogue until the last chapter made the thin connection. The protagonist is a dry one dimensional character, a bit cliché if you will. He is written as if the author thinks this is how a struggling writer truly is in real life, the way a sitcom might portray him. Alfred, our protagonist, is a struggling writer or maybe it’s wishful thinking that he is a writer at all. His father in law, Frank, arranges for Alfred to spend one week at Barry’s Lodge to write his book. Again, cliché, this story has been told. There is an abundance of flowery descriptions about each scene. I would have loved to see that much effort put towards plot, character development and cleaning up more editing mistakes than I could count. At around the one third point of the book the “thriller” begins. The inn keeper is completely odd and has a seemingly endless list of rules that aren’t explained. I can suspend disbelief if the rules make sense, but they don’t here. The conversation between Alfred and the inn keeper are disjointed. The story never gets the needed traction to be thrilling enough to keep my interest. The ending does have a twist of sorts but it wasn’t well written and left me unsatisfied. Sadly this isn’t a book I can recommend, it had too many misses and not enough hits.

Book Info

Length: 219 Pages

Publisher: Black Raven Books

Release date: June 8, 2017

To Purchase Barry’s Lodge Click Here

Something sinister has always lurked in the spectral woods of Skiddaw… Alfred, a washed-up author, plagued by failures can’t believe his luck when his father-in-law, Frank, provides him with a chance that he direly craved for: Seven days alone in an isolated Motel with the task of finishing his upcoming book! But little does he know about the Motel’s unsavory history. Hidden in the copse of trees and about 400 miles away from his home in the dark forest of Skiddaw, it is a two-storey facade with twisting, malevolent chimneys and an eerie allure.Lack of WI-FI, poor signals and weird set of rules, the dark atmosphere soon turns his seemingly idyllic trip into a living nightmare. Apart from the usual creaks, groans, and moans of the crumbling structure, he soon finds himself face to face with an entity. An urban legend that is lurking in the woods long before the Motel found its existing foundations. The Motel’s dark and haunting history quickly becomes tangled with Alfred’s life as he frantically searches for answers. Barry, the caretaker is hiding something. But what is it? Is there someone else living in the motel beside him? Or is the caretaker not what he seemingly appears? Alfred quickly begins to lose his tenuous grip on reality as he sinks further and further into an intricately designed game of deceit and lies that might put his life in danger! Or is he a threat to himself and everybody around him?

Sean Seebach – Autumn Dark Review

David Spell Horror, Mystery, Paranormal, Thriller ,

Review copy provided in exchange for an honest review

This time of year it’s hard for me to care about much and picking up a book, even less. It’s equally hard for it to keep my attention for more than a few pages at a time. When I find a book that can make me forget my own horrors, for a day or two, and care for the story and its characters, that’s a special thing. This is what happened when I finally pushed myself to open Autumn Dark. I’ve been a fan of Sean Seebach for some time and looking forward to his latest book. I’ve read a number of his stories, and without a doubt find this to be his finest piece of writing I’ve had the pleasure of reading. Before I knew it I was several chapters deep in the story and enjoying the hell out of myself. Sean doesn’t rush to introduce a dozen characters and make me struggle to keep them straight. Sean takes his time with each character giving us the chance to get to know them. It was very easy to slip into the story and forget it’s just that, a story. And when I say that I mean it with the utmost respect for Sean Seebach’s storytelling skills. The protagonist, Alan Decker, is a man who drinks too much and has nearly thrown his life away because of it. This character and his story are great to follow as he works to get his life back on track. There are many characters that bring life to Autumn Dark, and trying to guess who was good, bad, or otherwise added an additional layer to the story. The mystery wasn’t easy to figure out nor who was behind Alan’s sister disappearing. Autumn Dark is one heck of a book, and one worth picking up by an author who is making his mark in the horror genre.

Book Info

Length: 241 Pages

Release date: October 18, 2016

To Purchase Autumn Dark Click Here

When Alan Decker returns to the small town he and his sister grew up in, he realizes that the parts people play haven’t changed, only the players. A new preacher arrives in town just as crazy events begin to occur and no one is sure whether or not he is to blame.

Alan tries to steer clear of the happenings, but is forced to get involved when his sister goes missing. He isn’t afraid of any occult superstitions where his sister in concerned, but he is afraid she may have fallen off the wagon and returned to old bad habits.

Nothing is quite as it seems, and Alan is about to fall deeper into a world he isn’t sure he even believes in.

 

 

T.D. Trask – Banquet of Souls Review

David Spell Dark Fiction, Horror, Paranormal ,

Review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review

I’m guessing like most reviewers we tend to revisit an author we’ve read in the past. It was nearly a year ago when I read Deadsville by T.D Trask and Dale Elster. So when given the chance to read T.D.’s latest book I was more than happy to do so. The new book, Banquet of Souls, has a bit of everything for everyone. Being there are a dozen stories in this collection I’ve chosen just a few to talk about. The first story I was drawn to was the title story, Banquet of souls. T.D. Trask may have scared me the most with the question of, “what if our idea of hell isn’t far off?” We get a glimpse of technology being the catalyst the devil needs to take control of humanity. Each time a video viewed it leads to chaos, murder and the end as we know it. Banquet of souls is pretty morbid, and in a strange way it doesn’t feel that far-fetched. In this story technology is the two-sided sword we know it to be.

While Banquet of souls scared me the most, Bus 1309 is probably my favorite. Bus 1309 isn’t in service anymore… or is it? 10 years ago bus 1309 crashed while out on a run during a bad snow storm. Now the bus is back to make one final run and pick up one last passenger. I love the way this story hides just enough but you still know something is off. I was on edge the entire length of the story leaving me with an unsettling feeling. The story, She’s still breathing, is a tale of a women named Crystal who has a gift to ‘see’ others people’s lives are just by touching them. She uses her skills at her job as a home care nurse and I love the idea of this story. It had a good plot and some well written characters but was too short. The story skipped along a bit too fast and some of the details weren’t flush out enough. The glass in the window was a close second for the creepiest story. It is a haunting tale of a man who sees a vague image in the reflection of his window. He never can get a good look at it but he sees it moving in his periphery. That alone is enough to get my heartbeat up a notch. I was given just enough details to let me fill in the rest of the image, and we all know our imagination can be far worse. What the blurry shape in the window wants isn’t given away, it watches and waits…

Book Info

Length:  195 Pages

Publisher:  Downtown Books & Coffee

Release date:  October 12, 2015

To Purchase Banquet of Souls Click Here

Please. Sit. We hope you brought your appetite.

Tonight we have a twelve course offering of freshly procured delicacies, each one specifically chosen just for you, our most discerning guest. Some dishes have a dark, heady flavor, quite delicious, always satisfying. And, as always, we offer lighter fare brought between courses to cleanse the palate.

And, certainly, a final dessert piece, one that’s not too sweet.

This is the Banquet of Souls, a feast where death is one breath away and the wine is blood red and always flowing.

Just remember.

You’ll never dine alone.

T.D. Trask

T.D. Trask, biography

T.D. Trask is a freelance writer, copywriter, and Web site designer living in the great city of Binghamton, NY. His hobbies include following politics, movies, books, and, of course, the paranormal. His novels “Still Waters” and “Legend of the Tiger” are available at online retailers.