Dark Hollow Road – The Back Cover

There are less than two weeks to go before Kindle pre-orders start for my latest and darkest novel yet, “Dark Hollow Road”. Now that you know all about the story’s creation from my 4 part UrbEx series, I thought I’d treat you all to a little teaser from the back cover.

A past filled with terror.

On Dark Hollow Road, Mary Alice Brown and her siblings know little more than poverty and abuse at the hands of their father. Getting rid of their tormentor seemed the answer to bringing joy back into their lives. But when that doesn’t work, Mary takes it upon herself to see that justice is served.

A present full of dread.

After an unusual visit from an elderly woman looking to borrow sugar, the theft of his coloring book, and complaints about other kids bothering him in the middle of the night, six-year-old Brandon Evenson, who lives within sight of the house on Dark Hollow Road, goes missing.

A future obsessed with revenge.

Desperate, Brandon’s parents seek answers from Lee Yagar, a local who’s warned people time and again of the dangers lurking at the old Brown place. But, Lee’s suggestion that Mary is involved in Brandon’s abduction makes little sense. Mary is presumed dead, as she’s not been seen in decades, but is she? And is the house truly as empty and abandoned as it appears to be?

 A psychological horror driven by hate, fear, and every parent’s worst nightmare.

A little after story here. As you know from reading the UrbEx series, I’ve done my fair share of urban spelunking, starting when I was just a kid. I don’t do it so much anymore, but that isn’t to say the desire to do so has left me. This past summer I had a chance to stop at the farmhouse my grandparents owned up until the late 1970s. This place is near and dear to my heart. Sadly is has fallen into decay. Weeds have grown up everywhere. The house appears unlived in. The barn itself has collapsed.

Given the chance, even for just a quick explore, I took it. I worked my way back to where the barn once stood and into the old milk house. I longed to take a souvenir from this place of such joyous childhood memories, but after so long I couldn’t tell what was from the time of my grandparents and what was more recent with any sort of real surety.

It was then I was reminded of Dark Hollow Road and the fate of those who take from that place what doesn’t belong to them. What if I took the wrong thing? It wasn’t worth the risk and I left empty-handed.  My work of fiction convinced even me not to cross that questionable line – imaginary or not.

Movie Review – The Ritual (2017)

Movie Review – The Ritual (2017) starring Rafe Spall, Arsher Ali, Robert James-Collier, and Sam Troughton. Directed by David Bruckner.

Five blokes: Rob, Phil, Dom, Hutch, and Luke, meet in a pub to discuss going on a trip together. Ideas are presented and rejected. Rob suggests a hiking trip in the wilds of Sweden. This too is rejected. On their way home, Rob and Luke stop at a store for another bottle of booze unaware that the place is being robbed. Rob is killed while Luke hides behind a shelf, cowering. This lack of bravery will go on to hunt him for a long time to come. In Rob’s memory, they decide to take the Swedish hiking trip. After Dom falls and injures his knee, they decide the quickest way back to civilization is through the woods, off the beaten path, deep into that place where things can go terribly, terribly bad – and they do.

It’s a cliché set up, to be sure, as the quartet quickly becomes lost and falls into fighting amongst themselves. Runic inscriptions begin to appear in trees, they hear and see something stalking them, something very, very big. Mayhem ensues. Nowhere is safe. The monster is pretty damn cool, I have to admit. I’d love to see a detailed shot of this thing in full light. I’d also like to know what the hell it was beyond the vague description one of the woodland locals gives it as a bastard child of Loki. Maybe it’s just me, but I’d not be at all tempted into worshiping this thing in anyway – sorry, I value my freedom too much to be enslaved to such a being regardless of the prize.

In the end, The Ritual left me unsatisfied. I get the symbolism regarding Luke’s journey to self-forgiveness and the inner demons he was battling even as he and his friends fought for their physical and mental well-being. It was okay and suspenseful and as I said, the monster was pretty damn awesome, but I wanted more explanation as to what it was and the why’s of it all.

2 out of 5 Ravens.

The Raven Scale:
1 Raven: Yuck! Don’t eat that.
2 Ravens: Bread crumbs, but it’ll keep us alive.
3 Ravens: Oh, hey! Peanuts, popcorn and cat kibble!
4 Ravens: Lunch time pizza place dumpster. Hell, yeah!
5 Ravens: Holy Shit, Fellas! Fresh Road Kill!

The Wonderful Week of Writing

It’s been a rather satisfying week for this little Scribe.

It started with the cover reveal of Dark Hollow Road. I’m so excited about finally getting this book out there. It’s taken over two years, but now the wait is nearly over. The release date for both paperbacks and eBooks has been set for March 23. eBook pre-orders will be announced soon, too.

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Next came this amazing review by Isobel Blackthorne for my HellBound Books novel, “No Rest For The Wicked”.  I’m pretty speechless about this one. Thrilled is putting it mildly.

 

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Then this review appeared over on Goodreads for my most recent Barnesville Chronicle title, “The Witch’s Backbone Part 1: The Curse” by none other than fellow Horror writer, Hunter Shea.

 It’s moments like these that keep me writing on. They give me a level of hope that pulls me up from the dregs of self-doubt and pointlessness.

 

Over the weekend, I started work on my first run through of the first draft of Part 2 of The Witch’s Backbone, “The Murder”. It’s sat ignored for a month so I go in with somewhat fresh eyes, having forgotten certain scenes, inserting scenes I realize needed to take place later in the book, and discovering scenes that are completely missing from the printed version. Let’s hope that’s just some sort of printing snafu and that they are actually still intact when I get back into the electronic version to implement all these corrections, subtractions, and additions. The hope is to have this one released by September, but don’t quote me on that.

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Terlingua, Texas

 

We have a grand trip planned for Southwest Texas and a little ghost town called Terlingua in late October – early November. I’ve been thinking of doing a story based on this area of the country for several years now and am looking forward to doing some much-needed first hand research as well as enjoying what promises to be a once in a lifetime experience of celebrating Dia de los Muertos with the locals and visiting my husband’s cousin all wrapped up into one wonderful adventure. Can hardly wait to breathe in that delightful desert air again!

Grand things are in the works, dear readers and I’m really looking forward to sharing them all with you as they unfold.