In the YA thriller Little Creeping Things by Chelsea Ichaso, a teenage girl named Cassidy (Cass) overhears a potential murder and hunts for the victim. Cass, also known as Fire Girl, is haunted by her past where she may have accidentally killed her best friend. Unfortunately for Cass, the high […]
I read C. J. Redwine’s first novel, The Shadow Queen, as part of a goal I set for myself for “Tell a Fairy Tale Day.” I was going to read several Snow White retellings and review them. When I read the description, I thought I would hate The Shadow Queen […]
The new novel, Moonlight and Claws, has eighteen tales all based on the classic monster the Wolfman (or werewolves, or any type of lycanthrope or shapeshifter). Full disclosure: I’ve written a short story in the book. Therefore, this is not a review, but a description of what awaits readers if […]
The Mistake (Earth Girls Aren’t Easy) is a short novel by Leigh Royal detailing the humdrum lives of scientifically minded Harriet and drifting-through-life Ace. Harriet is a researcher working at a lab and Ace is a sales clerk at an (as he defines it) “adult entertainment” store. Harriet’s car breaks […]
“I saw Lon Chaney walking with the queen doing the werewolves of London.” Psst, Warren Zevon. Lon Chaney never acted as a werewolf or wolfman. His son Crieghton, however, is a completely different story. In celebration of the anthology Moonlight and Claws coming out, I’d like to reflect on the […]
Silverweed by Dorlana Vann is a pleasant surprise. I wasn’t sure what to expect from reading the blurb. Subtitled a “Supernatural Fairy Tale,” the plot centers on a few characters and one principle setting. Seventeen-year-old Aiden and his mother are visiting their long-estranged grandmother after Aiden’s aunt has died. While […]
The third and final book in The Raventree Society Season trilogy must stand on its own and pay off the ten stories that came before in Season 1 and Season 2. Five segments comprise each Raventree novel, and each of the five is the length of a short novella. All […]
It’s true. I have no tribe. A writer’s tribe (as I understand it because I don’t have one) is a close-knit group who reviews each other’s work and provides useful feedback. Tribespeople are people you trust with that work that is most sacred to you…your story. It would be wonderful […]
My thriller story, “Words to Live By,” is published today, Oct. 7, 2021. It’s free here only on that day: https://gohavok.com. Below is a list of thrillers, a few hidden gems, to read round the year and then especially at Halloween. Thrillers to read any time of the year Nathaniel […]
What is a holy grail to a reader? A lost book by the bibliophile’s favorite author, of course. When I was young, I remember my sister holding a book called The October Country by Ray Bradbury. She showed me a pencil drawing from the short story, “The Scythe,” and described […]