Thriller Thursday: Must-Read Anthology for Chill Seekers

Stacy — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 12:17:12 +0000

I know, October is supposed to be about obsessions and stalkers. And next weeks post will be all over it. But since we’re in the scariest month of the year and there is a great new anthology out, I wanted to tell you guys all about it.

From Amazon:

TALES FROM THE MIST will take you on a journey into the dark world of the paranormal. These twelve stories vary in their degree of horror, yet all reach across the boundaries of their genres into the chilling realms of the macabre. Witches, ghosts, shape-shifters and vampire rats are some of the creatures that reign within these pages. Authors included are: Scott Nicholson, Rhonda Hopkins, Marty Young, Cate Dean, Tamara Ward, Meredith Bond, Catie Rhodes, Greg Carrico, Mitzi Flyte, Natalie G. Owens, *lizzie starr and Stacey Joy Netzel.From TW Brown, author of Dead: The Ugly Beginning: “To have a collection assembled by such a talented group of authors makes this THE anthology to own if you are a fan of horror.”From Bill Hopkins, Author of Courting Murder: “I’ve grown up loving to be scared. Thus, when I had a chance to read Tales From The Mist, I jumped at the chance and jumped when I read the stories. All these stories are worth your while…”Joe McKinney, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Flesh Eaters and Mutated: “Tales From The Mist is one of those rare anthologies that gets it right from the first story to the last. It’s a magnificent feast of horror from some of the most assured voices working today. From cold-blooded tales of revenge to Faustian bargains to terrifying journeys into the dark corners of our world, these stories will make the shivers climb your back.”

Now, I’m really picky with my scary stories. I don’t scare easily–unless cockroaches or spiders are involved. Most so-called scary books have me rolling my eyes because they want to tell me how to feel instead of building the fear and suspense. A good scary book makes me feel nervous and has me looking over my shoulder as I read.

So I went into the advanced read of Tales From The Mist with reservations. But I wasn’t disappointed. This anthology is full of stories that will raise the hair on your arms. Some of the authors are brand new while others are multi-published. Every one of them delivers, but here are a few highlights.

The Messenger by Cate Dean has the gothic feel of Northanger Abbey and Jane Eyre, and the cemetery scenes are written in chilling detail.

Haste by Catie Rhodes deals with an emotion every one of use can relate to: impulse. The main character spends the story back on her heels trying to fix one dumb decision, but the twist at the end took me by creeptastic surprise.

Jade O’Reilly and the Graveyard Shift by Tamara Ward had me at haunted house. This is the first mystery of Tamara’s I’ve read, and it was an excellent ride.

The King of Rats by Greg Carrico mixes humor and horror and had me laughing and trembling all at once.

Beneath Still Waters by Stacey Joy Netzel is a haunting tale full of excellent prose and snappy dialogue and left me with a lovely feeling of October unease.

The Consuming by Rhonda Hopkins is a great tale of things that go bump in the night, and I’m not ashamed to say I turned on all the lights while reading this one.

This is an anthology I’d recommend to anyone seeking a good old-fashioned October creepfest. Congratulations to the authors of Tales From The Mist for delivering such a great book.

Tales From The Mist authors:

Scott Nicholson
Rhonda Hopkins
Marty Young
Cate Dean
Tamara Ward
Meredith Bond
Catie Rhodes
Greg Carrico
Mitzi Flyte
Natalie G. Owens
*lizzie starr
Stacey Joy Netzel

Buy Links

Row80 Check In 10-30-11 Pre-Holiday Push

Stacy — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 14:53:57 +0000

It’s time for another Row80 check in! This week’s gone by so quickly, and tomorrow’s Halloween. Our stomachs will soon be stuffed with Thanksgiving feasts and then it will be mass hysteria as the holiday shopping season commences. I can hardly wait. Or not.

Time’s ticking away on 2011, and I’m vowing to push hard on my goals for the next few weeks. I really want to begin the query process, but I want to be completely organized before I do it. I’m working on it, but still have a ways to go.

This week has been pretty productive. Wednesdays list was a big one. I did get through INTO THE DARK. I hadn’t read it in a few weeks and was surprised to see how much I really enjoy it. It’s a good book, and I’m proud of it. I also managed to cut out another 3K or so, getting rid of unneeded clauses and extra language.

I also got some more research done on e-publishers and agents, but not as much as I wanted to.

I haven’t worked on THE PROPHET yet. My mind has been focused on INTO THE DARK. I’m just not great at going back and forth.

Thriller Thursday went well, but it still doesn’t get the traffic I’d like it to. I think one of the issues is that the posts are long, so I’m going to work on cutting them down to about 1500 words.

I did get my crit partner’s pages read. Catie Rhodes has a very good book on her hands:)

All in all, a productive several days. Lists do work!

Here are my goals for the next check in:

1) Make final changes on first three chapters of INTO THE DARK.

2) Finalize list of e-publishers. Continue to work on agents.

3) Write a minimum of 500 words on THE PROPHET.

4) Get back into yoga. I’ve been utterly fail since we got back from Indy. I’m tired and lazy, and I know yoga will help. I just have to do it:)

How’s your week been? Are you all ready for Halloween?

Halloween – Stacy Green

Thriller Thursday: Must-Read Anthology for Chill Seekers

Row80 Check In 10-30-11 Pre-Holiday Push