You know how creepy some books can be. You read it and feel like the author just had a very entertaining time mind fucking you. The Book of Paul is that book. Richard wrote it just so he could say yeah I hit that in the eye with a damn harpoon. It’s so seriously out there and yet so smart, brilliant and disturbing.
I wondered while reading it if he was a serial killer or something because I couldn’t imagine how one could come up with such horrors and not have body parts in the freezer. Having said that there is tenderness within. Questioning what it means to be a person good, bad, nature, nurture, religion the occult and so much more.
The Book of Paul is written in a very readable style. It has characters easily related to and even those who freak you out such as Paul you’re curious about and want to know more. Want to know everything in fact.
Rose and Martin are character who sucked me in, their pain made me sad. I wanted them to be happy and have a good life, to go back and undo the horrors done to them. Made up characters that you care so much about, that is when I know I love a book; when it does that to me.
I’m profoundly disturbed by Richard and worry about his brain. What goes on in there that just … whoa!
Whatever issues he needs to lay on a couch and talk to a shrink about his talent is bloody insane. Brilliant and total genius. This is a must read.
“Everything you’ve ever believed about yourself…about the description of reality you’ve clung to so stubbornly all your life…all of it…every bit of it…is an illusion.”
In the rubble-strewn wasteland of Alphabet City, a squalid tenement conceals a treasure “beyond all imagining”– an immaculately preserved, fifth century codex. The sole repository of ancient Hermetic lore, it contains the alchemical rituals for transforming thought into substance, transmuting matter at will…and attaining eternal life.
When Rose, a sex and pain addicted East Village tattoo artist has a torrid encounter with Martin, a battle-hardened loner, they discover they are unwitting pawns on opposing sides of a battle that has shaped the course of human history. At the center of the conflict is Paul, the villainous overlord of an underground feudal society, who guards the book’s occult secrets in preparation for the fulfillment of an apocalyptic prophecy.
The action is relentless as Rose and Martin fight to escape Paul’s clutches and Martin’s destiny as the chosen recipient of Paul’s sinister legacy. Science and magic, mythology and technology converge in a monumental battle where the stakes couldn’t be higher: control of the ultimate power in the universe–the Maelstrom.N
A best-selling novel, The Book of Paul is the first of seven volumes in a sweeping mythological narrative tracing the mystical connections between Hermes Trismegistus in ancient Egypt, Sophia, the female counterpart of Christ, and the Celtic druids of Clan Kelly.
I <3 Nicole. She’s smart, sweet and just the right amount of quirky that is a must in an author. She does however make me jump for joy when I get to read one of her stories. Her previous book I’ve enjoyed for it’s superb uniqueness not an easy thing to do now a days. Everything is all ohhh vampires are popular people will want to read nothing but vampire books. Sigh publishers you know nothing. Flogging a dead horse is kinda pointless. Enjoy then leave it alone.
Indie however like Nicole gives me what I enjoy uniqueness, difference and me sitting with the most peculiar expression on my face going what the fuck is Nicole on!!!!!! Then I crap my pants in terror. Children of No One is just so damn scary in one aspect because of the possibility/probability of it being possible. Children taken when young and brainwashed that angles bring them manna from heaven. Follow the sound of the bell and you get to eat the angels will not help you so good luck oh yes and they are locked in a maze with no sunlight because it’s art. Least that’s what Krieg and Mr. No One think. I think they’re out of they’re freaking minds not to mention sadists. The scary as hell look at sadism, darkness of the mind and soul makes me never want to get on Nicole’s bad side I highly suspect she’d know how to kill me and make my body disappear for good.
Children of No One is Nicole’s debut novella, I so look forward to a full length novel from her. Not sure if it’s ever to come she has mastered the short for sure.
The story opens with two brothers arguing over light, remembering no you don’t yes I do. A very wealthy individual who wishes to see this art comes into the picture. The mind fucks, the back and forth who’s with who, what is real, what isn’t makes the readers head spin. Nicole has you by the balls and drags them along the asphalt, the best part is that you go along willingly. Yes, yes please just tell me what happens.
I loved the story. It takes a supernatural twist which I have to be honest I didn’t love. Liked, enjoyed yes but wanted the focus to be on the boys, the maze tell me more tell me everything. Within fewer pages than many authors and a hand full of characters Nicole can take you on a ride that will seriously haunt you. If you haven’t experienced the chill, the thrill that is Nicole Cushing you are missing out in a major way. Read it, read it now. I shouldn’t be the only one sucked in or with their balls shredded.
Check out the great spotlight I have for you. Coyote Winds a lovely coming of age drama with a book trailer for you all to check out at the bottom of the post. There is one hard copy to be won for US only sorry international people publicity company is sending it. Just leave a comment to be entered. I’ll pick a winner in about a week.
Set against the time of the Dust Bowl and Great Depression, Helen Sedwick’s debut novel COYOTE WINDS is based on her father’s tales of growing up on a farm in Eastern Colorado in the 1920s. Unlike typical Dust Bowl stories of suffering and loss, his tales brimmed with adventure, trouble-making, and an unfenced boyhood.
COYOTE WINDS pays tribute to his tales in the story of two boys, seventy years apart, living very different lives. In the 1930s Depression era, Myles Vincent snares rattlesnakes, dodges tornadoes, and tames a coyote. In 2003, his grandson Andy feels suffocated by his over-protective mother and the supervised routine of a modern boy. When he discovers a box his grandfather Myles left for him with stories of his adventures, Andy heads out to discover what’s left of the wild prairie.
“This is no heavy-handed historical novel. Rather, young readers will be drawn into an engaging story that broaches serious questions about family, the American spirit, and hope. There is the potential for its audience to get so much from the book that it could easily be used in a classroom to prompt discussion.” ––Foreword Reviews
“COYOTE WINDS transports readers to a bygone day when dreams died hard and indomitable spirits struggled to endure.” ––David Schweidel, author of Confidence of the Heart and What Men Call Treasure
Helen Sedwick is the author of COYOTE WINDS. A finalist in the 2011 Mainstream Fiction Writer’s Digest Competition and the Lorian Hemmingway Short Story Contest, Helen Sedwick recently won second place in the Redwood Writers Flash Fiction Contest for a piece adapted from COYOTE WINDS. She is a lawyer and lives in the Sonoma wine country with Howard Klepper, a builder of handcrafted guitars, and an exuberant hound dog named Farlow. For more info, http://www.helensedwick.com
I’m super excited to have Eric on today. He’s a Hydra Publications author, great group of people there. His new book Reality Check was just released and he even has a giveaway on goodreads so pounce on that chance people.
When a quantum supercomputer’s “reality simulator” program causes temporary insanity in its beta-testers, Lee Green rolls up his sleeves and dives into a virtual world to debug the problem. Only he discovers that place is more real than anyone imagined. He finds alternate versions of his friends in that mad science reality, their lives and relationships very different from those in the “real” world. Quantum entanglements become romantic entanglements as he meets his love again in each new dimension. Lee must save these other lives, decide which destiny is truly his, and what he’s willing to sacrifice to get there.
Congrats on joining Hydra Publications. Please tell me how that came about. -
Thank you! I met Frank Hall, publisher of Hydra Publishing, at his bookstore, That Book Plave in Madison, Indiana. It was at last year’s Authors Fair. I didn’t realize Frank was the proprietor or a publisher right away. He’s very friendly, I don’t think he’s met a stranger. We got to talking about publishing and self-publishing, and I mentioned Reality Check, since I was rewriting, editing and polishing it. He was interested and asked to see it. I submitted it months later, and also became involved in a project with Hydra Games.
Reality Check just came out in ebook through Hydra Publications on February 5th, and I’m very pleased!
Your novels are dark in nature demonic possession, sinister fairy folk why do you enjoy going there? -
Demons are slippery monsters, they get right inside you. Become you. Wear you like clothing. I like using demons in stories because a good way to explore some darker natures in otherwise good people. Was it really the demon, or was the demon just releasing something already there? Darkness adds a contrast to stories, bringing characters into sharper relief. Stories are all about conflict, so adding some dark mischief or outright malevolence drives that harder.
Your upcoming book Reality Check is sci fi with fantastical steampunk elements is variety the spice of life or is this just so in your writing? -
I am all about variety to keep things fun. I’d written four books in an urban fantasy series and wanted to do something different. Also, I’d had this world-hopping science fiction adventure idea rattling around in my head for years and then it finally gelled and I had to write it.
I do plan to return to the Road Ghosts series soon, as I’ve signed a six book contract with Seventh Star Press. I miss those characters, it’s been too long since I’ve gotten to hang out with them. I’ll feel the same about my Reality Check characters after some time away as well. Okay, so I already miss them….
Are there any genre that you have yet to take on but would like to do so? -
I’ve done urban fantasy and science fiction… I think I might want to try a more classical fantasy someday. Probably not your stock vaguely Tolkien-esque fantasy world, but something different. The fun thing about Reality Check is, I could possibly take characters from one of that book’s worlds and send them off to a fantasy realm. How’s that for variety spicing things up, hmmm?
What is your writing space and routine like? -
Most often, I write at or near my basement bar. It’s out of the way in my house, maybe not as comfortable as other places, but it’s somewhere I can work without distractions and lean into things. I usually have music going to provide a beat to what I’m writing, anything from celtic music, blues or electronica. Reality Check was pounded out to the relentless electronic beat of Daft Punk’s Tron Legacy soundtrack.
Some favorite books and authors -
Growing up, I read anything by Heinlein, Asimov and Piers Anthony. I’ve always been a fan of Tolkien. In the past couple of decades, I’ve been in love with the works of Neal Stephenson (especially Snow Crash) and John Varley (especially Steel Beach and the Thunder and Lightning books).
What are you reading now? -
I just got done with the Wizard Takes a… stories by Red Tash, and am resuming God’s Cradle, by Michelle Hammond. Red Tash’s stuff is always whimsical and intense at the same time, I love her writing. Michelle is an up and coming writer, the book I mentioned isn’t published yet, it’s a science fiction adventure set a thousand years from now as multi-generation colony starships arrive at an Earth-like planet, only to find conflict between the colonists and also the planet’s unfriendly ecosystem.
What is something about you that no one knows? -
I can’t say that NO ONE knows this, but my wife and I were paranormal investigators for many years up until a couple of years ago. I got to be known as the Simon Cowell of ghost photography. I’m really good at debunking false positives. Still that’s another answer to your question about why I gravitate toward darkness in my stories. I’m interested in things unseen, shadows in the dark.
Eric Garrison is active in the writing community in Indianapolis, Indiana. He lives in the Circle City with his wife, step-daughter and a cabal of cats. He also enjoys gaming, home brewing beer, and finding innovative uses for duct tape.
Eric’s latest novel, Reality Check, is a science fiction adventure released by Hydra Publications.
Eric has also written four urban fantasy novels. These include the Road Ghosts trilogy (to be released by Seventh Star Press), as well as Blue Spirit. His novels are dark supernatural fantasies, dealing with ghosts, demonic possession and even sinister fairy folk.
Eric’s short story, “Drag Show” appeared in the Fall 2011 edition of Strange, Weird and Wonderful Magazine. His flash piece, “Dark Reflection”, appeared in the Indiana Horror 2011 anthology.
I was super excited to join Partners In Crime tours. The first tour I signed up for was a great read. Leave a comment for a chance to win an ebook copy offered by the author Stacy Green.
I quite enjoyed Into The Dark. It’s an enjoyable read and I wanted to keep reading to get to the end, to find out about those tunnels. The issue I had was the characters being a bit cookie cutter and the predictability of the story. For a mystery there was a bit of I know what’s coming.
Now this doesn’t mean a bad read. Simply perhaps a place to improve on the next book. The story about a woman who has had a difficult childhood and made bad man choices now finds herself in a predicament a nut job crazy guy wants her all to himself. Not new but what is new and different utilising the Las Vegas underground tunnels as a setting for a part of the story. Fascinating and curious. This aspect and what was clearly a lot of research into a part of Vegas that isn’t know made for great reading. There is a good guy hunky with issues of his own of course, a good cop, a stupid sexist cop, a damsel in distress who can hold her own but still makes bad choices, a crazy delusional kidnapper and again while not original made for entertaining reading.
On goodreads I gave it 3 stars because goodreads insists on a star rating. In reality I’d give it 3.5 while not perfect it’s a book I’d recommend checking out.
My thanks to Partners In Crime tours for my review copy which I received in exchange for an honest review.
A two-hundred-mile labyrinth of dark storm drains serves as a refuge for the delusional stalker who will go to any lengths to possess fragile, emotionally isolated Emilie Davis. To survive, Emilie will have to confront the secrets of her past she has kept locked away from everyone, including herself. Emilie is a master escape artist—she’s fled a manipulative mother and a controlling ex-husband. But it’s impossible to evade a stalker who uses a bank robbery as a ruse to kidnap her. He’s still out there, hiding in the Las Vegas tunnels and dodging police. Emilie’s life careens out of control as her assailant continues his pursuit. She has nowhere to turn but to Nathan Madigan, the hostage negotiator who worked the robbery. Nathan is haunted by his failure to protect a loved one fourteen years ago and dedicates his life to saving others. Determined to catch the lunatic hunting Emilie, he finds himself losing his professional detachment. He fears history is about to repeat itself if he cannot protect Emilie from the Taker’s obsession.
The police close in on the Taker’s identity as Nathan and Emilie grow closer to each other and to resolving the misery of their own pasts. At the height of The Taker’s madness, his attempt to replace someone he’s lost will either kill them all or set them free.
Standing water covered the toes of Nathan’s boots. The air was thick with mildew. “Drain’s over there.” He shined his tactical light on the flood map. “To the right.”
The temperature dropped as they entered the large drain. Darkness engulfed them.
Chris’s whistle cut through the eerie stillness. “Wow. It’s a hell of a lot cooler in here. Place smells like feet, but I’ll take what I can get.”
Nathan shined his light on the walls. Colorful graffiti decorated the concrete.
“Someone’s a talented artist.”
The darkness thickened with each step. The odor grew increasingly foul. “Jesus, I can taste the stench in my mouth.” Chris gagged and spit into the dirty water.
Nathan didn’t respond. He was too busy trying to keep the contents of his stomach down and wondering how the people who lived in the tunnels stood the smell and the constant dangers. The drains provided relief from the sweltering desert heat, and free housing, but they were death traps. Large portions ran directly underneath the city streets and inhabitants risked carbon monoxide poisoning and the frequent threat of flooding. Growing up poor in North Las Vegas gave him a better perspective than many, but he couldn’t imagine having no other alternative than to live minute-by-minute.
“We shouldn’t run into any camps,” Johnson said. “They’re deeper in. One of the biggest is right under the Strip.”
“You know we aren’t going to find shit,” Chris choked out. “It’s too dark. Guy planned this for months. He knows his way around. We need to get out of here and check on Adam.”
“Medic called me when they got him to the hospital,” Johnson said. “He’s going into surgery. All we’d be doing right now is sitting around waiting. Still have to do our jobs, Holt.”
“He’s just a rookie. I should have been in front of him.”
“Stop,” Nathan said. “You followed protocol. That was a lucky shot.”
“Doesn’t make it right.”
Silence fell over the men as they moved farther into the stinking drain. Something hard crunched underneath Nathan’s boots. He nervously shined his light into the black water. Crawfish swam around his feet, probably on their way to the Las Vegas Wash. A mushy white glob looking suspiciously like used toilet paper floated by, and he focused his light away from the stream. Better not to know what he was stepping on.
A loud splash ahead brought all three to a halt.
“You hear that?” Johnson asked.
“Sounds big.” Chris stepped in front of Johnson and raised his Glock.
“Las Vegas SWAT,” Johnson shouted. “Identify yourself.”
Nothing.
“Maybe it was an animal,” Nathan said.
“That’s even worse than a junkie,” Chris said. “With my luck, Cujo’s man-eating cousin will show up and give me rabies.”
“They have shots for that now.”
“No shit, Sherlock.”
A second loud splash was followed by the distinct sound of footsteps plodding through the water.
“That’s no dog.” Chris sprinted after the runner with Nathan and Johnson closely following. The beams of their lights flashed haphazardly against the walls making the tunnel even more ominous.
A strange brightness glowed several yards ahead of them. Their quarry came into view. He was too short and stocky to be their man, but he could have information.
Raised in southeastern Iowa, Stacy Green grew up watching crime shows with her parents, so her love of suspense and psychological thrillers is no surprise. She’s fascinated by the workings of the criminal mind and explores true crime on her popular Thriller Thursday posts at her blog, Turning the Page.
After earning her degree in journalism, Stacy worked in advertising before becoming a stay-at-home mom to her miracle child. She rediscovered her love of writing and wrote several articles for a city magazine before penning her first novel. She shelved the long drama and began working on a suspense book set in Las Vegas, featuring a heroine on the edge of disaster, a tormented villain, and the city’s infamous storm drains that house hundreds of homeless.
Into The Dark is suspense with a dash of romance, and Stacy is hard at work on her next book, a darker, grittier thriller set in the Deep South.
When she’s not writing, she spends all her time with her precocious daughter, supportive husband, and their three obnoxious but lovable canine children.
BTW this is hard to explain but this line from your Goodreads review -- "What I got out of it is that we may not be the way we see ourselves and some people are just bat shit crazy" is actually one of my favorite things anyone's said about the book! somehow I feel like you've completely encapsulated my vision of the world here (which gives me a warm "my work here is done" type feeling... go figure!)
James Warner author of All Her Father's Guns
