Tasha Schiedel - Editing and BETA, ARC Reviewing

A fabulous collection of nine stories with a lot of variety. All nine are unique while giving a good dose of scary. Some are more along the lines of thriller and some are horror. There are creatures, bugs that feed on people, a serial killer, and a deep dark body of water. Just to name a few... Durgin has a subtle and brazen style in his writing. Imagine being told a story that slowly builds up to a finale that not only satisfies you but also has you walking away feeling a bit spooked and disturbed. The way Durgin can walk you through the words of his stories with simplicity, but can still satisfy the horror craving you have, is a strong talent.

This is an amazing story that is part historical fiction, part thriller, and part horror. It isn’t too heavy on the horror, but there is still lots of blood and gore. I do think many of us would enjoy this story. The Relict is part one of the Skulldiggery collection. Book two, The Quarry, I read a couple months ago and loved it. Both books can be read in either order, but they do relate to each other. For these two books, there isn’t a wrong place to start, in my opinion. “Monsters in human masks walk among us.” - page 75 The story alternates between two timelines, one set in the 10th century and the other set in the present day. Both timelines alternate throughout the book and I never once got confused. I think the stories work well together. In the 10th century, Gunnar, a Norseman settler, experiences some awful events in his young adult life. He sets out to save his village after a couple of tragic events are assumed to be the work of something dark and evil. In the present day, Rus...

Somehow, the team at Crimson Pinnacle Press finds some of the best storytellers in our community. I honestly think that every anthology CPP publishes is such a fabulous time and all the stories are phenomenal. Normally, I find that anthologies have one or two lacking in suspense or horror; but CPP seems to know what I like and puts them altogether in an anthology. There are 16 stories in ‘Til Death and every single one of them is great! Here’s a breakdown of each one. Instead of a foreword in this collection, we have a dedication to M. Ennenbach. Jason and RJ share with us this wonderful human being, Mike Ennenbach. From the interactions I’ve had with the man, I can say this dedication is quite fitting. He is an honest and open person that is someone to rely on. Also, if you haven’t read Ennenbach, you should fix that as soon as possible. My Ode To Death by Andrew Lennon. Now this is how you start a collection of stories about Death! Lennon has written a poem about his brush with Death...

Y’all this story has everything you need in a story. So much humor, blood, guts, and hanky panky. Such entertaining writing and the characters are so rotten you can’t help but love them all. The action starts right at the beginning and it is just a fantastic shit show all the way through. Teena and her daughter Leanna hate each other with such passion, they will go to great lengths to ruin each other’s lives. This story is a hilarious, action packed journey of the two women on two separate journeys that end up with the two of them head to head in a battle of blood, gore, and explosions. Ludwig has written a story that deserves to be made into a movie. It would be one of those classics that we horror aficionados will covet and watch over and over again. Someone out there has a connection to HBO to make this happen. If Netflix did this, it would be too tame. This story has a ton of gore, hanky panky, and drugs. And it has to be done right! The entire time I was reading this, I was watch...

Robert Francis shares some short stories of his experiences with schizophrenia as a young man. Using humor and layperson’s terms to help the reader understand the jargon used in diagnosing schizophrenia, Francis helps us to comprehend and accept this mental disorder. Through my education in college, I took many psychology courses and schizophrenia was touched on frequently, but not completely. I understood, through textbooks and medical articles about what schizophrenia entails. Francis comfortably puts a unique learning experience by giving the reader actual episodes in which he experiences the auditory hallucinations and delusions. Fast forward to an older Francis and he reflects on these events and identifies the episodes. This is a learning process for him, as well as informative to the reader. There are perspectives in each chapter that are an eye-opener to those that do not experience schizophrenia. Francis explains the reason for this book is; “I wrote it because I passionately ...

                                                           Another fantastic collection of short stories from some exceptional authors. KJK Publishing is one of the best publishers for anthologies. Here is a breakdown of the 18 stories of the Lost Edition. A Perfect Match by Russell James - Emile Broderick is passing through town and looking to relax and find the comforts of a woman. He ends up whisking her away for a better future. A completely unexpected ending that no one can guess. This story completely surprised me. Eric’s Tune by Mark Towse - A prank has gone horribly wrong at an old abandoned prison. If you have ever visited or plan on visiting an abandoned prison, this is a must read! 13 Hook Street by Tim Curran - If you listen, you can hear a house share its feelings with you. All the dark and horrible secrets it has to share wit...

Fairy Tale Horrorshow, edited by RJ Roles and Jason Myers, Crimson Pinnacle Press. Once again, the dynamic duo of Roles and Myers has found ten fabulous fairy tales with a twisted and evil rendition to satiate that wickedness you need to feed. Piper (The Pied Piper of Hamelin) by M. Ennenbach. Piper is an outcast in his hometown, but he helps rid the town of rats, anyway. He just wants some respect and if they won’t give it to him freely, he will take it by force. An entertaining and dark tale of a young boy just wanting some love. Midnight At The Glass Slipper (Cinderella) by Ruthann Jagge. Elly owns and runs the Glass Slipper, a bar she took over when her father died. Life has been tough for Elly, especially when her step-mother and step-sisters keep intruding. Karma is a bitch, though. This is a quick story with a wicked punch. Always Time For Tea (Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland) by Natasha Sinclair. When the Red Queen becomes close friends with Alice, she is introduced to a new k...