Guest Post - Halloween Books to Unleash Your Inner Kid

Today's post is by MJ Ware, Author of Super Zombie Juice Mega Bomb.  Thanks, MJ for helping promote my blog. Lady D.

Even before publishing Super Zombie Juice Mega Bomb (SZJMB), I wrote a lot of horror stories. However, since I write almost exclusively for kids and teens my stories aren't anything like your traditional, terrifying, horror stories. They're more blood and snot than blood and guts. With that in mind, I've compiled a list of great books to wake up your inner child, or maybe your inner young adult, this Halloween season.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan – I'm starting off with this one because, as a YA book it will appeal to more adults, plus it has zombies! Mary lives in the woods as part of a community surrounded by a fence that (usually) keeps the undead out. This one is really more of a romance novel with zombies. Still, it has great imagery which really makes it spooky.

The Witches by Roald Dahl – This book is definitely a kid's book, but it's so well written, anyone who loves books will enjoy it. And, compared to most of Dahl's other books, it’s pretty dark; in fact it's one of the 100 most banned children's books on account of the violence.

Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury – It doesn't get any more Halloween than this. It's a great story about a gang of guys (and one girl) who run into a haunted house while trick-or-treating. After you finish the book, check out the Emmy award winning cartoon version:



Coraline by Neil Gaiman – Gaiman is a master of scary books and Coraline is one of his best. Even if you've seen the movie, don't skip the book. It's a quick read at 35k (and it's one of those books that's hard to put down). Once you're finished, you might want to check out Gaiman's more adult themed The Grave Yard Book.

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury – Okay, Bradbury is one of my favorite authors, so he's allowed two books on the list. Something Wicked This Way Comes, is much darker than The Halloween Tree, having deeper and more serious themes. It was published as an adult book, but really, it's a coming of age story that resonates with young and old alike.

Welcome to Horrorland by R.L. Stine – What list of scary books would be complete without something from the Goosebumps series? Obviously, this one's light reading and only for readers who enjoy kidlit. With its fast action and short chapters it's also a great choice for that reluctant reader in your life.

About the author:

M.J.A. Ware, known as M.J. to his friends, lives in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains with his wife and two daughters. He wrote Super Zombie Juice Mega Bomb because he felt there was a need for a zombie book with a broader appeal than just hard-core horror fans. A book that would not only appeal to both adults and teens, but would be teen safe.

When not writing about aliens, monsters and ghosts, he runs a company where he designs award winning video arcades. He’s currently polishing his latest novel, Girls Bite, a paranormal vampire story told from a guy's perspective.

Find SZJMB at: Amazon (print and ebook) Barnes & Noble  SmashWords  Apple

Win a Free ebook copy SZJMB. Enter by 10/31. Winner chosen at random and will be announced on or around 11/1.



Note from Lady D: If you like guest posts, comment here on the blog. I'll try to arrange more such posts according to the feedback I receive from you readers. Commenting is welcome and, at the moment, unmoderated.

Continuing Saga

An Echo in the Bone
By Diana Gabaldon
Bantam (2010),
Mass Market Paperback, 1232 pages
Rated 4 stars of 5 Possible

An Echo in the Bone continues the saga of Claire and Jamie Fraser, beginning where A Breath of Snow and Ashes leaves off.  While this volume came in a couple hundred pages shorter than the previous two volumes, it is nevertheless excruciatingly long. An Echo in the Bone is neither the best of the series, nor the worst.  My favorites by far are the earliest three volumes... but I like this one better than the previous two.

The highly detailed plot and the vast number of fully developed characters in this series make the novels challenging to read, yet enjoyable for those who don't demand total accuracy in the historical content of a novel. Even though I have been reading this series from the beginning, I still find most of the transitions between centuries disconcerting... but I noticed that the letters from Claire and Jamie to their daughter often make a good trasition back to the present day.  I just wish the transitions getting back to the 18th century were as clear and focused.

If you have picked up this book without reading at least a few of the preceeding six volumes, it's probably not a great place to start. Read the series beginning with Outlander first, aka Cross Stitch in the UK. I recommend not skipping volumes in this series because there are places in each that refer back to key events in the other novels.  The references to earlier events do not fully repeat the previous material, so you could miss something if you try to skip sections of the saga.

Recommended to fans of the series, who have read all the previous volumes before cracking open the covers of this one.  This unsolicited and uncompensated review has been published on Dragon Views, Amazon.com, LibraryThing and any other site deemed appropriate by the reviewer.

Book 1: Outlander  5 stars
Book 2: Dragonfly in Amber  5 stars
Book 3: Voyager  5 stars
Book 4: Drums of Autumn  4 stars
Book 5: The Fiery Cross  4 stars
Book 6: A Breath of Snow and Ashes  4 stars

Be Careful What You Wish For

Remote Control
Cheryl Kaye Tardif
Imajin Books (2010),
Kindle Edition
Rated 5 Stars of 5 Possible

What if you pushed the button on your TV remote control, and it transported you right into the scene you were watching on TV?  Might the results be something out of your finest dreams or your worst nightmare? Remote Control is the dark, suspenseful, and somewhat comic look at a TV addict's dream come true, or his nightmare realized. Read this little novella and find out what happens...

Only two characters are fully developed, but that's all this story needs to hook you into turning the pages and reading on into the night. Cheryl Kay Tardif has done an excellent job on this well-written and quirky, yet addicting little story. Once I got started, I couldn't lay it aside; I just had to know what happens next, and I'm sure you will, too.

Recommended to readers who love a story that hooks you on the first sentence and keeps you hooked all the way to the end. This unsolicited and uncompensated review has been posted on Dragon Views, Amazon.com and LibraryThing as well as other sites deemed appropriate by the reviewer.

Steampunk Worth Reading

The Burning Sky
By Joseph Robert Lewis
Joseph Robert Lewis (2011),
Kindle Edition
Rated 4 stars of 5 possible

The Burning Sky is a gripping, thrilling story, full of action and adventure, as well as interesting and well-developed characters. The characters' actions are consistently realistic within the rules of their world, which is not the same as ours. Thus, actions that make sense in their world would not necessarily make sense in ours... yet the envelope of suspension of disbelief isn't broken. In fact, it's not even stretched much.  As part 1 of a trilogy, The Burning Sky involves the reader in the lives of the characters and embeds their world into the reader's soul so that, laying aside the book when it's finished leaves the reader feeling as if he/she is missing out on something.

For adult readers of fantasy who like stories with substance to them, The Halcyon series books are good candidates to bring on to your Kindle or other e-reader. for now, the books are not available in printed formats, which is my only regret.  The time reading the series was well-spent and has provided excellent entertainment.

Recommended to all adult readers of steampunk who don't shy away from the inevitable violence of a frontier world.  This review, for which I have not received any financial compensation, has been posted on Dragon Views, Amazon.com and LibraryThing.

Award-winning Debut

The Windup Girl
Paolo Bacigalupi
Night Shade Books (2009)
Hardcover, 368 pages
Rated 4 Stars of 5 Possible

The Windup Girl depicts a world in which cloning is not only permitted, but has become common place. The clones are genetically altered so that their movement is not smooth or graceful and this betrays their artificial status. The author has touched upon sensitive issues, such as racial abuse, from our own world in this high-tech science fiction novel.

The novel starts slow, and builds suspense from the beginning, yet remains interesting enough that it's hard to put down... and it gets better as the reader turns the pages. Many of the characters are only superficially developed, and these would have been more interesting if they had been developed more in-depth. The Windup Girl is not a "fluffy" read and requires concentration from the reader to fully understand what's happening. In fact, one almost needs to take notes at a few points because a lot happens in the story.

In the end, I felt I needed to deduct one star for the sometimes lengthy and apparently unnecessary descriptive passages in which little is happening to further the ends of this otherwise interesting tale.

This review, for which I have not received any financial compensation, has been posted on Dragon Views, Amazon.com and LibraryThing.

Historical Page-Turner; Grabs You On Page 1

Pursuit of Happiness
By Sheldon Greene
BookSurge Publishing (2010)
Paperback, 474 pages
Rated 5 stars of 5 possible

Pursuit of Happiness By Sheldon Greene is a well-told revolutionary war tale, and, as the title might lead one to believe, there's romance involved too.  But the most prominent parts of the tale involve the machinations of none other than General George Washington to convince blockade runners to retrieve a desperately needed shipment of French arms from a secret location somewhere in the Caribbean islands, and the completion of that task, at a considerable risk to the particpants.

This tale is well researched as the historical bits fit nicely into place, and the fictional bits seem authentic enough that they could have happened. The author grabs the reader from page one, never letting go until the end. A nicely placed historical note reveals that a few, slight liberties were taken with certain historical events and some of the area's geography. A list of sources are provided afterwards which the historically-interested reader may wish to consult.

Recommended to readers of historical fiction and those who just love to read a book full of action, adventure and thrills... Oh yeah... the romance. For those who don't like much romance in their literature, there's not a lot here, but it does add a bit of interest to the tale at parts that might sag otherwise.

A review copy of Pursuit of Happiness By Sheldon Greene was provided to me free by the author in exchange for this review.  This review has been posted on Dragon Views, LibraryThing, Amazon.com and wherever else I may deep appropriate.

Action and Adventure on an International Scale

The Wreckage: A Thriller
Michael Robotham
Mulholland Books (2011)
Paperback review copy, 320 pages
Rated 4 stars of 5 Possible

The Wreckage involves high-tech bank robbery on an international scale, a vanishing executive and mistaken identity tied together by a suspenseful plotline, which is acted out by a long cast of characters.  Michael Robotham's fans will recognize Joe Loughlin, a psychologist/professor, and retired police detective Vincent Ruiz, both of whom appear here and each of whom have appeared in previous novels.

Multple and seemingly unrelated stories constitute the beginning of this novel, which slowly reveals that what is - at first - thought to be unrelated incidents are actually different aspects of one larger case for Detective Ruiz and the police to solve. With so many plot lines that eventually converge, the story is difficult to follow at the beginning, yet this author skillfully handles the isolated components in a way that makes sense to the reader and turns the novel into one, very difficult to lay aside book designed to keep you turning pages until the end.

Recommended: If you love mystery/thriller type novels, and if you can handle the constant jumping from London to Baghdad, then back again and to other international destinations then this novel just might be for you.  If you're a fan of Michael Robotham's work, this is a don't miss tale.

An advance review copy of The Wreckage by Michael Robotham was provided to me free by the publisher in exchange for this review.  This review has been posted on Dragon Views, LibraryThing, Amazon.com and wherever else I may deem appropriate.

A Tale of Medieval Scotland

Freedom's Sword
By J.R. Tomlin
J.R. Tomlin, (2011)
Kindle Edition
Print length 242 pages
Rated 4 stars of 5 possible

Freedom's Sword begins in 1296, during the invasion of King Edward Longshanks of England. Several years pass between the beginning and end of this novel. Action, adventure, romance, and other elements tied together by a suspenseful plotline make Freedom's Sword a page turner that historical fiction lovers won't want to miss.

Story-wise the tale is nearly perfect but could use some judicious editing by the author or someone familiar with Middle English terminology, some of which is used here for effect. I suspect there were a few times that at least one word was used when another word was intended, not to mention a few errors of other grammatical or typographical origins, to the point where this book looks very much like an uncorrected first draft rather than the final finished product.

The expected brutality of this tale was rather prominent, but I don't believe it was overdone.  Such violence and brutality may, however, make the tale unsuitable for some readers.  Recommended for that subset of readers for whom the violence of the period isn't too much, and for whom the numerous typographical and grammatical errors in this book aren't a problem.

This book was provided to me free by the author in exchange for review. This review is being published on Dragon Views, Amazon.com and LibraryThing.

Art Instructions For All Levels - Not

Sketching School
By Judy Martin
Quarto Publishing, plc. 1991
Reader's Digest, Association, Inc.
Third printing (January, 1994)
Hardcover, 176 pages
Rated 3 Stars of 5 Possible

To begin with, I must take issue with some of the promotional material which was prepared for this book. Specifically, the back cover states "40 specially designed projects." Inside the book, I've only been able to locate 39 projects. Additionally, there are four sections titled "Focus On" which are focused on four different topics. These "Focus On" sections may be helpful, but, do they, I wonder, constitute the missing project #40? Another statement from the back cover promises "Sketching demonstrations by leading artists." There are, indeed, three demonstrations included, yet none of the three demonstrations goes into as much depth as I would like to have seen.

The back cover also states "For artists of all levels", yet there is very little content here for the inexperienced artist. The promised step-by-step instructions are quite vague rather than specific, and not too detailed. That type of instruction might be okay for intermediate or advanced artists, but I would not recommend it for beginners at all. I'm rating the book as three stars because I think, after seven years of working on my drawing that I might be able to take advantage of some of the techniques included here; but I can't recommend the book to artists at less than an intermediate skill level, and at least a few years of experience. Can we say disappointed?

This review has been posted on Dragon Views, LibraryThing and Amazon.com. and has not been solicited by either the publisher or the author/artist.

Forgettable Historical Fiction

The Blighted Troth: A Historical Novel of New France
By Mirella Sichirollo Patzer
History and Women (2011)
Kindle Edition
Rated 3 stars of 5 possible

Set early in the 18th century, this historical tale of New France tells of the trials and tribulations a young couple face. They wish to marry each other but their priest refuses, because, unknown to the young couple, the priest has been threatend by a prominent man of higher status whose attention has been fastened to the young bride-to-be. Naturally, the man covets the young woman for himself and sets out to make certain the young couple cannot be married.

The premise was very good - which is what attracted my attention to this book.  The plot is complex, with twists, and turns and a large cast of characters that one almost needs a cheat sheet to follow closely, so marks off for that... The long, involved sequences between the parts with real action also challenged me to keep reading, and also caused me to mark down this book's rating. There were a couple of points near the middle of the book where I almost laid it aside forever.  I kept on, because I wanted to know if the young couple overcame the difficulties, and how they managed to do so.

Large portions of this tale are forgettable, not something that makes the book stand out in my mind for recommendation. Though I normally love historical fiction, this book turned out to be less special than I thought it would be. Not recommended. 

This book was provided to me free by the author in exchange for review.  This review is being published on Dragonviews, Amazon.com and LibraryThing.