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Happy Halloween, HAGS!

10/2/2021

Halloween Trivia:

The association of black and orange with Halloween all goes back to the Celts. It's believed that black not only represented the coming darkness of winter, but also death. Meanwhile, orange represents fall as well as the color of the Celts' fall
time bonfires.

The term for having a deep fear of the holiday of Halloween is called 'Samhainophobia.' Just don't confuse it with sanguivoriphobia (fear of vampires), seleneophobia (fear of the moon), or skelephobia (fear of skeletons).
Dark and milk chocolates can last up to two years if stored in a dry, odor-free spot.
In 2019, Chesapeake became one of the latest cities to ban trick-or-treaters over a certain age. Anyone over 14 who goes door-to-door is subject to a Class 4 misdemeanor and could be fined up to $250.
In total, about $2.6 billion is spent on Halloween candy each year
In the 1966 TV special, the iconic lead character says, "I got a rock" while trick-or-treating. The phrase went on to become one of the most famous lines in Peanuts history.

Best Vampires Ever?
Honorable Mention: Count Chocula.
Barnabas Collins (Dark Shadows) ...
Ralphie Glick (Salem's Lot 1979) ...
Count Von Count (Sesame Street) ...
Countess Elizabeth (American Horror Story: Hotel) ...
Spike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) ...
Proinsias Cassidy (Preacher) ...
Eric Northman (True Blood) ...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

The oldest vampire is Sekhmet. She was a warrior goddess in ancient Egypt.

Best Candy???
Reese's Cups
Skittles
M&M's
Starburst
Hot Tamales
Sour Patch Kids
Hershey Kisses
Snickers
Tootsie Pops
Candy Corn

Hottest Female Vamps?
Kate Beckinsale in Underworld: Blood Wars (2016)
Evan Rachel Wood in True Blood (2008)
Aaliyah in Queen of the Damned (2002)

Double WIN!!!!!
Halloween Oct. 31
HAG Awards Nov.1

BOO!

Movie for Halloween: I AM LEGEND 2008: Robert Neville (Will Smith), a brilliant scientist, is a survivor of a man-made plague that transforms humans into bloodthirsty mutants. He wanders alone through New York City, calling out for other possible survivors, and works on finding a cure for the plague using his own immune blood. Neville knows he is badly outnumbered and the odds are against him, and all the while, the infected wait for him to make a mistake that will deliver Neville into their hands.

Feel free to send everything you want in the HAG blog...pictures, news, new releases, book covers, poetry, flash fiction (under 200 words, plz)

How to be a Zombie for Halloween:

Partially rip or shred the clothes — especially the sleeves, hems and pockets. Drag them through dirt or mud, and smear on fake blood made by combining 1 cup corn syrup, 1-2 tablespoons of chocolate syrup and 1-2 tablespoons of red food coloring. Try for a dark color – bright red blood will give you a cartoon appearance. If needed, add a couple of small drops of blue or green food coloring to darken the fake blood. Wash your hair the night before and let it dry as you sleep so it will look messy. You can also back-comb your hair or smear in a lot of conditioner for a greasy look, wear a lopsided bun, or create an up-do that is partly undone. Spray the finished look to keep it in place. Apply white makeup or foundation over your entire face and neck to create an unhealthy pallor. Use dark eye shadow to accent sunken areas of your face (around eyes, under cheekbones and chin). Brush or blot baby powder on your face to set the makeup and add to your paleness. Dribble fake blood into your hairline and let it run down your face. Pour blood into your hand, and then “eat” it to get a nice mouth smear, and let it dribble down your chin and throat. Walk slowly, move stiffly, wheeze when you breathe, act confused and leave your arms slack and mouth open. Lean forward and shuffle when you walk, dragging one foot behind you. Don’t talk much (mostly grunt and groan), but ogle human flesh like it’s your favorite meal (which it is). (all ideas from Living Cheap.com)

Prom Queen from HellSupplies: Old bridesmaid or prom dress (the uglier the better) from thrift store; torn black fishnets, cheap tiara, eye makeup and bright-colored lipstick. Optional: Length of material for sash, glitter and glue.. Rip the dress in places and create a jagged slit part-way up the leg. If you want to create a sash, take a strip of white material that is long enough to go across your body. Fold it in half and staple or glue the bottom edge. Write “Prom Queen” on the sash with glue and then sprinkle copious amounts of glitter over the glue. Put on the dress, torn fishnets and tiara. Apply heavy, dark eye makeup and let it smear down your face. Put on bright lipstick and streak it beyond your mouth.

100 more ideas: https://livingonthecheap.com/cheap-easy-halloween-costumes/

Books to Scare Your Pants Off!

HAG AWARDS: The next time a blog goes out it will be to announce winners (after the live presentation, of course). WHO will win? Congratulations to the finalists! Good luck! November 1, 2021 at 8:pm Central US. Awards will be announced live and finalists are asked to join us and be prepared... Our Guest of honor will be Jonathan Maberry who will present Novel of the Year. Mark your calendar and tune in to cheer! More info to come....

Samaire Wynne

AMAZON

Samaire Wynne loves, and I mean REALLY loves, writing exciting stories. She's written Horror and Urban Fantasy, and her latest foray is into the realm of Epic YA Fantasy and YA Academy Fantasy.She loves gothic and dark tales, too.
You can find her skulking about in southern Virginia, where she relocated to from California. If you were to visit her, and she served you tea or whiskey on her back deck, and the sun started to set, and she excused herself to wander into the forest, then never came back, you might be tempted to try and follow her.

The Black Plague is ancient history. It killed 100 million people nearly seven centuries ago, halfway around the world from the technologically advanced research center at Stanford University. Scientists there have recently begun examining samples of bone marrow from plague-infected corpses unearthed in Europe. It's a MAD WORLD

In an abandoned warehouse in Manhattan, two enemies battle to the death, while outside, a malevolent entity watches and waits and plots, eager for blood. On an island in the heart of Seattle, an immortal princess struggles to lead a normal life just as a flood of terrifying creatures starts to pour in through a portal that should not be there. A young man meets a classmate while walking home from the college library, and embarks on the most dangerous adventure he’s ever known – will he survive? A deranged madman hunts the girl he’s lusted after for a century, in a relentless pursuit for vengeance. A prehistoric, mythical beast jealously guards a primeval land, which is leaking into present-day Seattle. A sweet, forbidden passion blossoms between two lovers who steal moments whenever they can, while unbeknownst to them, they’re hunted by a deadly creature. A royal family threatened at its weakest – yet lethal in its own right – is stalked by an ancient evil that will not rest until they are utterly destroyed: a nightmare incarnate that has waited millions of years for revenge threatens the very existence of the young lovers and their family in this modern Gothic tale. Will they prevail?

Imposter syndrome is a psychological pattern in
which an individual doubts their accomplishments
and has a persistent internalized fear of being
exposed as a “fraud”.

ASMR
noun: A feeling of well-being combined with a tingling sensation in the scalp and down the back of the neck, as experienced by some people in response to a specific gentle stimulus, often a particular sound. "ASMR is triggered by things like whispering voices, paper tearing, and scalp massage" Olivia uses a relaxing voice to explain that we are nobody, and nobodies are perfect.
Very relaxing video and it has a great message.

Amazon

JOHN WATSON

GET READY TO GET SCARED!!!

Born under a gloomy, grey, Scottish sky, it is perhaps no real surprise that darkness has always felt comfortable to John Watson. After countless hours spent in his local library, he found that he was more at home in the worlds of Clive Barker, Stephen King, and James Herbert than he was in his own. The need to carve out his own niche in the horror genre drove Watson to slice open his mind and let the words spill onto the page.From donuts to mysterious karaoke bars in the middle of nowhere, Watson mines the depths of the ordinary to find the evil that lurks beneath the surface. He dares you to join him in his ongoing forays into the dark side

HALLOWEEN READS

Ryan and Diana Richie have a happy life in New York City, but their goal has always been to downsize and live off the grid in a tiny home. Their plans arrive sooner than expected after a brutal attack on the subway that leaves Diana desperate to leave big city life behind. Selling off all they own, the couple invests in a tiny house and set off on a cross country road trip to their new home in Oregon. Along the way, they stay in countless trailer parks, and highway rest stops, acclimating to life in their humble new abode. When they reach their last stop before home, they stop in at a remote community, where they plan to live for a week.
The question now is whether they will make it out alive.

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Busy as a HAG Can Be....

8/15/2021

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Nominees!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Debut Novel
Anathema/ Nick Roberts and Breach/ Candace Nola
Novel
Red Light Falling and Son of the Right Hand and War of Dictates and Beast of Sorrows and Beyond the Breach
Novella
God in the Hills and Bloodlust and Abhorrent and Malinae and The Legion Machine and Abigail
Poem
Desire and Dr.Jesus Presents: The Chupacholo Learns his ABC (Ch)'s and Loop and Palache and the Leviathan and War of Dictates and Monster of Mansfield and Rapes My Soul
Short Story
Insatiable and It's Always Night Underground and Bone Mother and Letters From a Dead World and The Paperboy and Eighth Night and Fathers Mission and Hoard and Everything She's Looking For and The Dead Girl and Reunion and Something in the Air and Deranged Innocence and Fallen
Cover Artist
Hell Patrol/ Anthony Roberts for TD Tarver and Anathema/ Michael Fisher for Nick Roberts and Twisted City/ Michael Fisher for Jeremy Mac and Reaper Act 1/ Essel Pratt for Essel Pratt and Bloodlust/ Dan Chadwick for Dan Chadwick and Red Light Falling/ Michael Fisher for Andrews & Cautilli and Abigail/ Becky Narron for Daemon Manx and War of Dictates/ John Baltisberger for John Baltisberger and The Nightmare Hunter/ Michael Fisher for DA Roberts and Seven Exhumations/ Becky Narron for James G Carlson and Beast of Sorrows/ Becky Narron for James Watts and Secondhand Creeps/ Jeffery Kosh for Wales & Monks and Curse of Cain/ Hazal Kaya for catt dahmanReaper and Act 3/ Essel Pratt for Essel Pratt and Family/ Isaac Cooper for Isaac Cooper
Audio book/cover: The Cautible Award
Event Horizon/ S W Salzman for catt dahman and Louisiana Saturday Night/ Carlie Williams for catt dahman and Twisted City/ Zach NeSmith and Zombies vs. Robots/ Karl A Nordman

Berserker: Green Hell
By Lee Franklin

Berserker Green Hell is a roller coaster ride through extreme horror as seen through the eyes of a young Aussie soldier in the stifling green hell of Viet Nam. The heat, humidity, and overpowering menace of the jungle and its natural inhabitants are not the only things hiding in this landscape. Pinny and his squadron are sent in after skirmishes to bring back tags and to report on their findings, not quite a clean-up crew and not meant as first contact with the enemy Viet Cong either.
All hell breaks loose as Pinny, Taz, Doc, Snowy, Hammo, Cam, Chook and Wog-boy delve deeper into the jungle, coming upon one small village that shows them nothing

but blood and gore, it becomes apparent that something much more than a gunfight happened here. Pinny, a trained tracker, notices footprints in the mud leading the opposite direction, much larger footprints than most soldiers have. They are attacked several times by men much larger than they should have been, only lending more confusion to the chaos.
Fleeing deeper into the jungle, their sense of unease ever growing, they try to make their rendezvous point for extraction but another attack from something overwhelms them, something huge, that stands upright, with massive claws. Soon after, they encounter a squad of US soldiers and a mysterious American base, hidden deep in the jungle, where it should not have been. Rescue at last, or was it? Pinny and his remaining guys have no choice but to follow the American’s into the mysterious base, where they hope to recover and regroup with a new plan for extraction. Things go from bad to worse as new discoveries are made in the depths of that hidden base, things that may cost them not only their humanity but their souls. This novel plays out like a military movie with some of the most horrific scenarios I have ever read. Four gory gold stars for Berserker: Green Hell.

London 1890s. Out of the Thames’ fetid depths the undead rise to feast upon the living. While floaters seek blood, another army takes advantage of the chaos. Boiling out of their rookeries of crime, marauders swarm through London’s affluent neighborhoods looting and burning.
While the beleaguered police and the Queen’s army battle twin plagues—human and inhuman—London’s criminal youth gangs join forces to save their city. Will Tagget, leader of the Lambeth Lads, together with his enemies Bill Drummond of the Drury Lane Gang, bull-necked George Fish of the Elephant and Castle Gang, shillelagh-wielding Dirk Bogart of the New Cut Gang, Quincy Bird of City Road, along with their female counterparts—Lambeth Kate, Queen Jane, New Cut Beth, Razor Lil and Dirty Deidre—set out on an adventure the telling of which might earn a man a lifetime of free drinks. If he lives to tell it.
Will these violent youths be able to put aside their rivalries long enough to get the job done?

From Garrett Boatman, author of 80’s horror classic Stage Fright, and Bram Stoker Award®-winning Crystal Lake Publishing comes the dreadpunk novella FLOATERS. When a plague of living dead rise from the Thames’ fetid depths, can Victorian London’s hooligan gangs put aside their rivalries long enough to save their city?
Available from Crystal Lake or Amazon.

He's the master of disaster, the guru of gore, the doctor of doom, the duke of death and destruction. Superstar Izzy Stark has the power to make your dreams--and nightmares--come true. The show's about to begin. Don't miss his command performance!

“PEAKY BLINDERS MEETS RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD…BLOODY, VIOLENT FUN!”—Todd Keisling, Stoker award nominated author of Devil's Creek
“A TALE OF LONDON’S SCUM THAT IS VISCERAL, SHOCKING, AND FAST, BOATMAN’S FLOATERS IS HISTORICAL HORROR AT ITS BEST.”—Multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning author Lee Murray

Next steps for new authors: what to do next?
By Candace Nola

The world of self-publishing is not an easy one to navigate. Often, knowing what to do next can be confusing and overwhelming, especially if you begin looking for answers online. The sheer volume of information, websites and apps all geared towards authors is staggering. I hope to shed a bit of light on some of these issues in this on-going series in our HAG newsletter.
If you have already published, then congratulations! You have achieved a huge accomplishment, but now, how do you go about letting the world see what you have achieved. For starters, look at contacting book reviewers and getting some ARC’s into their hands. What’s an ARC? This just means Advanced Review Copy. Typically a digital file that you can email to multiple reviewers that can be a PDF, mobi file or ePub file. Once a reviewer has the ARC, they can read it with the intention of posting a review for you on Amazon or goodreads.
You should never pay for a review as this is not an ethical practice and their integrity cannot be guaranteed. You can only offer an ARC in exchange for an honest review, that’s all. Whether it is good or bad, is a chance that you take when you publish a book, and completely relies upon whether your reader enjoyed the story or not. Be very wary of so-called “professional book reviewers” on sites like Fiverr, or Instagram, offering to get you hundreds of reviews or put your book in the hands of thousands, these are usually scams or are offers made by people from foreign countries where it is more acceptable to charge for book reviews.
How can you find ethical reviewers? By joining the various author & writer groups on Facebook and interacting with people. Get to know the community and find out who does book reviews, there are many groups on FB that are run by book reviewers and many legitimate book reviewers can be found on instagram that you can reach out to. They will not charge you but offering them the book or file to read and review for free is standard practice. Do not expect a book reviewer to buy your book first, but they typically will buy a copy if they enjoyed it.

Meet the Creeps Bio for Candace Nola

Candace Nola is a Pittsburgh author with 3 published novels currently on Amazon. Breach was her debut novel, published in Nov. 2019, followed by Beyond the Breach, published Dec. 22, 2020. Her third novel, Hank Flynn, was published in July of 2021. She also had a short story published in the Secondhand Creeps anthology in May of 2021, that she co-authored with Sam Hill of the U.K. She is also a new member of the Horror Authors Guild.

She began her horror website in Jan. of 2020 to use as an author website and to help promote other indie authors in the industry. Her interview series, The Dark Dozen, was well-received in fall of 2020 and she began to do more book reviews, author interviews and new release features on her website. Original content was added along with a newsletter and Uncomfortably Dark Horror has morphed into the "go-to place" for the newest in horror book news.
She is currently working on a short story for an invite-only anthology as well as her fourth novel that is set for release in late 2021.
She is a mother of three kids, has a day job at a large health insurance corporation and spends almost all of her free time writing, editing, or posting features to her website. She also enjoys pour painting with her son, shopping trips with her daughters and loves to be at a beach, anytime

You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok and Facebook as well as her website, UncomfortablyDark.com.

Questions:

Where did the idea for “What Will The Neighbors Say?” come from?
This is a bit difficult as this story was the result of a challenge that I entered on FB, to co-write a story with another author, not knowing ahead of time what they wrote. I had two days to write an ending to Sam Hill’s beginning. Sam had written a really creepy beginning about a boy moving into a town where things seemed to be on a loop of some sort. It was really difficult to think of an ending but I knew it had to involve something shocking, to fit the title and to try to illustrate why they possibly had to move in the first place.

I came up with the werewolf transition because it's something I had always wanted to try to write and I figured would also give it that true horror trait that it needed. To fit the loop idea, I made it evolve into a sort of experiment where doctors are experimenting on this new breed of werewolf in order to discover how the subject originated but he is struggling with amnesia. As a result, they keep looping the same event of his first change through his memories in an effort to trigger his blocked memories.

When did I feel Called to entertain with stories?
Being an author has been a life-long dream, ever since childhood. It was a dream that I gave up on to get a day job and raise my kids and figured that I would just be content reading. In early 2019, a friend tricked me into co-writing a story with her and then just let me run with it. By late november, I published that story under the title of “Breach” and haven’t looked back.

Who do I consider my inspirations to be?
Edgar Allen Poe is my first influence, then Stephen King, Louisa May Alcott, Emily Dickinson. I read a lot of classics as a child, followed by screenplays, poetry, romance and then discovered fantasy and horror. I stayed with horror through my teen years and it just stayed with me. I was always drawn to the darker side of life.

Why do I write?
Because it’s who I am, it's who I have always been. I may never be one of the best, but I know that I am good at it. I have always been a natural writer and poet and there is nothing else that I ever really wanted to do in life. I am currently living my one and only dream and it's been worth every minute.

How do readers contact me?
Follow me on my website at uncomfortablydark.com or at Twitter @candace_nola.
You can find me on Tik Tok @uncomfortablydarkhorror.

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Time...Not Much Time

7/21/2021

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Soon, the blog will contain the nominees for Yaggie.s. I think it's exciting to be nominated or to nominate oneself for the award. It helps to keep our names where people see them. Then there is the award. First, it's a handsome award to display. But I think there is respect and admiration for the winner that makes this special. Maybe even more sales! It's based on peer voting, not popularity, and anyone can win. That's why I am so nervous and excited! Who will win? Time will tell. ANd hey, the runner-up gets attention as well. It may be bittersweet to be )( that close, but it's still an honor. Good luck !

Here's Jerry! Jerry DeCastro

STOKERVERSE

nightfall.games/1087/nightfall-games-announce-the-stokerverse-rpg.htmlWhat is the StokerVerse?
The StokerVerse is the exciting brainchild of international bestselling author Dacre Stoker (the great grand-nephew of Bram Stoker) and Chris McAuley, award winning artist, acclaimed writer and gaming expert.
Together they have set out to re-energize the Stoker Dracula IP and show the world, the true, authentic depiction of what Bram, the creator of Dracula, had intended for his universe of horror through modern interactive media. They do this through extensive Stoker family research, Bram's notes and manuscripts and with a dedicated creativity honed through their respectful experience in popular entertainment.
With a focus on the power of the central story of Dracula, the StokerVerse intertwines this with original horror content focusing on a variety of genres. This interconnected universe features ranges in the Classic Gothic, Science Fiction, Steampunk and Cyberpunk genres. Populated with rich and detailed characters and deep interpersonal narratives, we craft products with powerful protagonists and villainy.
Featuring a variety of products from Novels, Comic Books, Audio Dramas, Tabletop RPGs, Board games, Miniature Wargames and video games, we hope to provide somethign which fans of horror, vampires and popular entertainment have been requesting for decades.
With the StokerVerse team, this hunger can now be satisfied.
Latest Announcement
We have partnered with two large tabletop gaming companies - Nightfall Games and Trinity Knott Studios to craft an RPG game series and a board game series respectively.

Dacre Stoker is the great grand-nephew of Bram Stoker and the international best-selling co-author of Dracula the Un-dead (Dutton 2009) the official Stoker family endorsed sequel to Dracula. Dacre is also the co-editor (with Elizabeth Miller) of The Lost Journal of Bram Stoker:

He currently hosts tours to Dublin, Ireland, Cruden Bay, Scotland and Whitby, UK, to visit places where Bram lived, was educated, wrote and researched. He also leads groups to Transylvania to explore both the life and times of the historic Vlad Dracula III and also the locations where Bram set his famous novel.

He is also a novelist whose reach has included ‘The James Bond Franchise’ and ‘Alien’. Chris has also assisted Legendary Disney Imagineer Terri Hardin Jackson on the Star Wars franchise as a concept artist for ‘The Mandalorian’ and has written several comic book titles with William Shatner.

Purchase

A critically acclaimed Graphic novel published by AUK Studios, the Virgin's embrace is a treasury containing images from the Bram Stoker Archive and the original text of 'The Squaw'. It is a graphic novel adaptation of the classic Bram Stoker story featuring additional backstory and greater character nuances. Illustrated by Award Winning artists - Jessica Martin, Ester Cardella and Marvel's Robert Marzullo. This is a premier Graphic novel for any horror enthusiasts collection.

Michael Picco

website

BUY!

Michael Picco's a nice guy who writes about very bad things: things with sharp teeth and voracious appetites; things that lie in wait in dark shadows; things that chitter and howl and scream and slither. Things that make his readers check under their beds at night.
He lives with a menagerie of monsters in the Colorado high country. He finds beauty in odd things, making people laugh, and writing things that disturb his mother.

Michael has been hooked on horror since he read "The Outsider" by H.P. Lovecraft in third grade. Since then, he has contributed to a number of well-reviewed anthologies and has produced an award-winning collection of short stories: Scenes from the Carnival Lounge. His latest publishing credit ("Hey Nonny Ding-Dong, Alang, Alang, Alang") appears in Craig Spector's Anthology: Freedom of Screech. In December of 2020, he released his second collection of short stories: Corpse Honey, A Banquet of Gruesome Tales.

Daemon Manx

Abigail was released on July 24th and has already gotten some favorable reviews. The story is set up in the speculative fiction genre, but there are some very deep humanistic issues that come into play in the story. Adrian Billard has been picked on and marginalized his entire life. He has been verbally and oftentimes physically abused for his demeanor, his physicality, and his sexuality. The sad truth is that the world isn't always as open as we would like to believe, and tolerance can be hard to come by. But Adrian's perspective is about to take a turn when a mysterious basket is found on his doorstep. The contents are unlike anything he has ever witnessed before. Everything he knows about life, acceptance, and unconditional love is about to change as his world is turned upside down. He is about to meet...Abigail.

But Adrian's perspective is about to take a turn when a mysterious basket is found on his doorstep. The contents are unlike anything he has ever witnessed before. Everything he knows about life, acceptance, and unconditional love is about to change as his world is turned upside down. He is about to meet...Abigail.

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Info Overload?

7/19/2021

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Here's to thinking new thinks!

Hey YOU!

Yeah, YOU. We need blog material about YOU. Send a link(s), cover(s), author bio, author pic, awards, anything. We can do a big blog for you that will reach hundreds of people. Free. Or send something (short) that you've written. Maybe flash fiction? Come on, we're begging for you to show yourself off.....August-December are good months for this! Presses: send new releases or even older ones!

HAG STUFF

Leave it to us. In trying to simplify, we made a few things more difficult. Maybe this summary will help.
We are collecting dues because that and a near-future anthology are how we pay for awards and other things. Every penny goes back to HAG services and no one gets a salary. Dues info is here: https://www.haguild.com/join.html On the members page, members are white, those who have sent me links are blue, and voting members (who have paid dues) are purple. Voting members may be nominated for Yaggie awards. All members may nominate themselves or others for the awards.
We do have a ton of info on the website and encourage everyone to use it. Our Who/What page gives the names of all board members and states our beliefs and rules.

What Can You Get From HAG?

What you get back is about what you put in, same as many things.
* Join the page for HAG HELP. There you can ask questions about a piece of writing, about process, offer advice, and even find a mentor! (Or be one!) GO JOIN NOW! HERE
* Pay dues to become a voting member and nominate yourself or get nominated for Yaggie Awards!
* Vote for those nominated and perhaps change someone's life!
* Nominate people for the awards.
* Begin a program that you believe author need.
* Have your book appear on the revolving section front page and in the library.
* appear in blogs like this one!
* Allow us to vet a press before you sign.
* Have protection from bullies and mediation.
* Make friends and get/provide support for others.
* Be around opportunities for podcasts and interviews.
* And more!

Here is my certificate that shows I am a voting member of HAG (Paying dues gets you one) Does it change the world? No. But am I proud of it? YES! I love having this for my website. We have a frame for FB icons, these certificates (by Don Smith), and HAG icons to add everywhere (for ALL members at any level). I like showing that I am part of something. I enjoy belonging and take pride in this as another achievement. Those who win Yaggie awards or get a certificate for runner-up will also have an advantage since the awards are peer-based and not popularity-based.

7 Tips for Scaring Your Readers
Use the environment.
Use your own fears.
Write longer sentences.
Make your readers breathe faster. Leverage fear of the unknown. Avoid clichés.
Practice.

Kitty Amour by Verona L Jones

It's a glorious spring day as
Helios smiles upon the earth.
The windows are open wide
to welcome his returning warmth.

Lord Salem, his coat sleek black
sits upon his regal throne.
Admiring his mighty kingdom
when his lady fair comes a wooing.

Oh aye, she is a rare feline beauty
with a rich ebony and tawny coat.
Soft and silky as gooses down
with eyes of gold like the sun.

Lord Salem takes quick notice
and happily, they talk and kiss.
Playfully patting furry paws
upon the screen between them.

For Lord Salem will not go out
nor the Lady fair come in.
So, through a thin piece of wire
the two, pay court to their amour.

My name is Verona Jones, and up until recently, I have written mostly poetry. I have a BA in English from Ashford University and a MA in Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University {SNHU}. I've been busy applying the skills and lessons I've obtained from school to hone my writing skills. I'm learning to write more creatively. I'm also a proud member of the Horror Writers Association (HWA) and the Horror Authors Guild (HAG)

VERONA L JONES

More poetry and writings:

Pesky words you didn't realize you were using wrong:
Researches, However, This/These vs. That/Those, Who/Whom, Which/That, Affect/Effect
ex. The noun research is an uncountable noun (other examples include sugar, oil, homework, and peace). These are nouns that we don’t normally (if ever) count as individual entities, so they don’t (normally) come with –s or –es plurals.

HERE

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Almost Time for Red, White, and Boo!

6/25/2021

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Membership dues half-year $7.50 PAY

Serious HAG information

We are collecting dues and having the Haggie Awards/ Yaggies
It is prorated for the year at $7.50 and paid via paypal. Please include your name in the message. A paid membership will allow you to vote for awards. Paid members will be designated on the membership paid as an "active" member.

Okay, it's time for some major decisions for the group. We need dependable volunteers (We'll wave membership fees) to get everything moving. We need to begin with membership fees which are at half price.
1. We need someone to head up the Yaggie nominations. (organize them and make sure they are available to be read.) 2. And we need someone to organize four groups of three judges. We will begin this year with Best First Novel, Best Novel, Best Cover Art and Best Poem. 3. We need someone to begin and work a beta reader group for authors to share issues and get feedback. * We can't do it without you!

Summer days are meant for lying around under a favorite tree and reading some thing scary!

Is it just me or does this cover make you stop and look at each little item? This is one spooky cover. published by Writer's Prison, it's a book I have been meaning to dive into. The owners of this press are devoted to horror and if the cover is anything like the stories, then we have a winner! KAT DUNSMORE!!!!

There are dark, dilapidated houses in the woods waiting for unsuspecting visitors to happen upon them and venture inside. There are infernal beings masquerading as human; and the impact they have on those they encounter is often too terrible to be believed.

“James Carlson’s stories are both lyrical and horrific. Within the tales are spiritual battles between good and evil, but Carlson doesn’t rely on simple moralizing; instead, he allows his characters to experience, and sometimes overcome the excruciating suffering that all humans must face. An impressive collection.”
—Jon Bassoff, author of CAPTAIN CLIVE’S DREAMWORLD

James G Carlson

James G. Carlson is an author of horror, science fiction, and dark fantasy. His short stories have appeared in various anthologies from small presses. Two collections of his dark fiction have been published through Terror Tract -- SEVEN EXHUMATIONS and THE EVER-DESCENDING STAIRCASE

-- as well as a sci-fi horror western novella titled THE LEGION MACHINE. From the weird state of Pennsylvania, Carlson drinks too much coffee and writes at a desk surrounded by animals and family in the mad zoo he calls home.

available here

In an old warehouse in Pennsylvania, a dark and terrible secret is shown to a researcher of spiritual phenomena.
Monsters roam the wilds of America, all spawned by a strange being whose cycle of breeding, feasting, and nesting is interrupted by a small-town police officer, a cyber investigator, and a revenge-seeking father.
A teenage boy without family or a home encounters tragedy and horror in the snowy woods, where the threshold between human reality and the impossible is guarded by an unlikely creature.

Julie Kusma

A collection of spine-tingling paranormal horror short stories including:
STUCK THAT WAY where a boy in a parallel universe plays a forbidden game and finds himself stuck in an unfamiliar place. Link to FREE audio version provided in eBook version.
Reader’s comments from Twitter:
“What a great story- a futuristic version of the warnings my mother has when someone made a face around her.”
“Wow, great write! It reminded me of my childhood and hearing ‘stop making that face or it’s going to get stuck like that’ lol.”
SOMETHING LURKING Parts 1, 2, & 3 combined and the winner of Coffee House Writers “Most Views” for September 2019 about a creature is lurking in the woods, watching and waiting for the perfect moment.
Reader’s comments from CHW website:
“This is amazing...”
“...detail was amazing, I actually felt like I was there...”
“This is riveting!”
“Fabulous! This story just gets better and better! I love it!”
BY INDUCTION about a woman who writes names on scraps of paper and tucks them in her freezer. A foolish old wives’ tale her husband professed. I wonder what he thinks now?

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Busy, Busy, Busy!

5/24/2021

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We have been focused on building HAG and getting ideas and needs cemented so we can better serve our members. Everyone is ready for Haggies Awards, but we need a firm foundation before we begin. Due will start and be due in January for 222 and we will have Haggies Awards that year. $15 a year.
What we need from you: Book release news! Pictures, links, synopsis all sent to us! We need anything you find interesting as far as jokes, videos, and anything horror related. Let us know about open calls! We have the space and interest, but need the material to show you off! We'd love to share horror blogs as well. What about writing tips? You could be in every HAG blog is you want! Just let us know. We also need people to coordinate peer reading/reviews/beta reading within the group. If you see a job that needs doing, volunteer and go for it!
Let's GROW

25 Habits That Will Make You a Writer
Shunta Grimes

1. Write every day.A daily writing habit is thing number one because it is THAT important. Move your story forward by even a few words every single day and you’ll be surprised by what happens.Or maybe not, since what will happen is this: you’ll write a book. 2. Read like a writer.Stephen King says that if you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time or tools to write. You know he’s right. Make it a habit to carry a book with you. Keep one in your bathroom. Learn to read in sips instead of gulps — so that not having hours to indulge won’t keep you from reading at all.And read like a writer. Pay attention to what works and what doesn’t. Read craft books. Read fiction (for sure, read fiction) that does what you want your stories to do. What works? What doesn’t? (Most important) WHY?
3. Watch TV like writer.I’ve written before about my absolute belief that if you want to be a writer, you need to be watching television. I still believe it. Some of the best writing and story telling is happening on television.Just like with reading, watch like a writer. Pay attention to why you like a show, why you’re willing to invest hours of your life in it. And why you’re not, if you turn it off at the first commercial break and never come back.If You Want to be A Writer, You Should be Watching TV. Here’s Why.My daughter Ruby and I have this ritual. Twice a week, as we drive home from soccer practice, we listen to Delilah on…medium.com
4. Watch movies like a writer.Ray Bradbury advised people who want to be writers to watch a lot of movies. He advises old movies. I watch a movie in a theater at least once a week ($5 Tuesdays! I’m seeing Ghost in the Shell tonight. Last week was The Power Rangers.) A movie is a way to get an entire story in two hours. And writers should be story junkies. Pay attention to the structure of a movie, how its paced, which parts work for you and which don’t. 5. Set up your space.You need a place where your brain instantly knows it’s writing time. For me, it’s a corner of my den, right off the kitchen. I wish I had a whole room, but I don’t .I’ve lived in apartments so small and full of people that my writing place was a lap desk that I used while sitting in my bed. That’s okay, too. So is your kitchen table or Starbucks or the library or a cooperative work space or a straight up office. Where ever it is, train your brain to shift into writer mode when you are there.
6. Find your tribe. Seek out other writers. They’re your people. Find them online (come be a Ninja Writer), at writer’s conferences, take classes, join an in-person writing group. Being around other writers will help you to internalize the idea that you’re one, too.   7. Write for one reader. The inverse of finding your tribe is this: don’t try to write for them. Writing for a whole group of people is crazy-making. Writing and reading are too subjective for that. So pick a person — just one — and write for them.If they like what you’ve written, then that’s good enough. You’ve done your job. You can get other opinions then, use other beta readers, but contradictory advice can be filtered out. 8. Set boundaries with your friends and family. Your writing is important. It’s your job, even if you’re months or years from any tangible proof that other people will understand. Set your writing schedule and then protect it like you’d protect any other work schedule. It’s okay to say NO to interruptions. 9. Write like it’s your job. Let’s dive deeper into this one. If writing is your job, then you’ll do a few things: You’ll invest time in it. You’ll put effort into learning to do it well. You’ll finish what you start. You’ll expect other people to respect your work. Do all of that.   10. Write with the door closed. I see this happen all the time. Writer’s often know what the beginning and the end of their stories are, but the middle (which is actually half of the whole book), gets murky. So they start asking opinions. They reach out to their tribes and say something like: I’m not sure where to go with this story, what do you think? Your tribe is important enough that it gets it’s own item on this list, but your story is YOURS until you’re ready for readers. And then it becomes theirs. Don’t let it be theirs until you’re done with it. You’ll thank me later.You know. When you actually finish writing a book. 11. Learn to self-edit. Self-editing is as important as writing. You have to learn to do it.
If you have this thought in your mind, banish it right now: I don’t need to have good spelling/grammar/comma usage . . . that’s what editors are for.
Just. No. If you’re going the traditional route, you’ll never get close to an editor without a very clean manuscript. If you’re going indie, then YOU are going to have to pay someone to be your editor. You’ll save money and time and embarrassment if you turn in a clean copy to your editor. That you’re paying.Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King is an excellent place to start. It was like a master class is editing for me.
12. Save your pennies for a real edit and a professional cover, if you’re going indie.This is non-negotiable. If you wouldn’t be okay with Penguin releasing your novel with your best friend’s edit and your own homemade cover, then YOU can’t be okay with it either.
If you’re planning to self-publish that means you’re a PUBLISHER. A professional publisher. And that means that you have to find and hire an editor and a cover designer for your book, and if you don’t know how to do it yourself, probably a book designer as well. Plan on spending about $1500 and start saving your pennies. The hope is that your first book will pay for your second.   13. Ship. A lot.It’s very rare for someone to write one book and have it be something that looks like a career. Don’t talk to me about Harper Lee or J.K. Rowling. They aren’t normal people. They’re unicorns. Maybe you’re a unicorn, too, but the chances are about 99.9999 percent that you’re a regular old donkey like the rest of us. And that means that you have to keep writing and keep shipping your book out to the world.   14. Give your career ten books.That brings us to how much you need to ship. Don’t ship one book and when it doesn’t hit the bestseller list, give up. Instead, write ten or twenty really good books. And keep writing. You’ll see the momentum pick up.
This is one of my favorite writing advice posts. It’s from Hugh Howey. He says: Five years from now, these pros will have 10–20 works available. They only need to sell 250–500 books a month to earn a supplemental income. Ten books a day across twenty titles. That’s the longterm goal. 15. Read these books.On Writing by Stephen King
The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King
Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury
The Kick-Ass Writer by Chuck Wendig
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
Story Genius by Lisa Cron
16. Set teeny, tiny goals.I write about this a lot.
Teeny tiny goals are life changers. You can get anywhere if you take one little step at a time. So set a goal that is so small it’s harder to skip it than it is to just do it. My go to is ten minutes. Write ten minutes a day. Read ten minutes a day. You’ll see.
Here’s a whole framework I use: How to be a good writer with a good life The WRITER Framework medium.com
17. Give yourself gold stars.This is one of the most simple and simply effective things ever. It works for everyone, from Kindergarten up. Get yourself a calendar. Set your teeny, tiny goal. Meet your goal. Give yourself a gold star on your calendar. (Or, if you’re way too cool for stars, just get a Sharpie and give yourself a nice big X.)A visual representation of a string of successes will push you toward maintaining the streak. You’ll see.
Here’s what I use. I call it FRED.How to Use a Notebook to Reach Your Writing Goals FRED will help you finish your novel writingcooperative.com   18. Call yourself a writer.Just trust me. Say this out loud today: I am a writer.
The next time someone asks you what you do, say: I am a writer.
I don’t care what your day job is. Start identifying as a writer. It’ll be hard at first, if you’ve never done it before, but you’ll get used to it. If you’re writing every day, you’re a writer. You’re allowed to own that. 19. FINISH  This one is all-caps important. There isn’t a whole lot you can do toward becoming a writer if you don’t finish a manuscript. your writer brain will throw up shiny new ideas when the going gets rough on your current work-in-progress. Write them down, but stay focused on your story. Remember when it was your shiny new idea and keep writing. Get all the way to the end.   20. Make your day job serve your art. This is a shift in thinking that will change everything for you.Start thinking about your day job as something you do in service of writing. Your 9-to-5 pays the bills for your writing. It gives you the pennies to save for an editor and cover designer.
21. Build an email list.I wish, so much, that when my first books were picked up by a big publisher, they’d taken the time to tell me that I needed to build an audience and then teach me how to do it.  The fact is that I’m not sure they know how.  No one tells fiction writers how important an email list is. So I’m going to tell you: it’s very important. Start now. Even if you’ve never written a book. Start writing on Medium or on your own blog. Publish something once a week and put a form from upscri.be at the bottom.
22. Make a five year plan. Actually, break it down. Write goals for where you want your writing career to be in:
3 months/ 6 months// 1 year/ 3  years/ 5 years
These are stepping stones. It’ll be much easier to think about getting to “write three short stories and have 50 people on my email list in three months” than it is to think about some huge end goal. I’ve been a professional writer for 20 years. I have two books traditionally published and I’m at the bare beginnings of exploring being an indie (or maybe hybrid) author. Here’s what my five year plan looks like: 3 months: Get to 25,000 on my email list and launch WASTED (YA adventure.) 6 months: Get to 50,000 on my email list and launch 32-B (YA science fiction adventure.)
1 year: Get to 100,000 on my email list and launch THUNDERSTRUCK (romance.) Make a decision about whether or not to indie publish WONDER ROO (middle grade magical realism.) 3 years: Have 10 total titles indie published. 5 years: Earn enough money from fiction to support my family. ($5000 month.) 23. Keep an editorial calendar. An editorial calendar is a simple tool that will help you stay on track as you move through your five year plan. I was a newspaper reporter when I was younger and an editorial calendar was absolutely essential to my job. I just never lost the taste for having one. I keep an analog editorial calendar, because I’m just an analog girl. You can keep one online, too. Just make deadlines for yourself. Keep track of your writing goals.
I actually use my FRED to manage my novel writing. I keep track of my word count and also keep a daily log of my work. FRED is the most effective accountability partner I’ve ever had.
I use a monthly planner for non-fiction writing, which is mainly blog posts and Medium posts. It looks like this:
I write the home for the post in a circle and cross it when I’m done. I don’t personally need to write in the titles of my posts or plan which post I’m going to write ahead of time, so I don’t. I do keep track on the weekly pages of things like which posts I cross-posted to my blog or to Medium, so I’m less likely to accidentally duplicate. I also keep a running list of story ideas in my editorial calendar. 24. Be Interesting. This is a mistake I see a lot of newbie fiction writers make, especially if they’ve just signed with an agent or sold a manuscript: they dive into social media with a hard focus on their fiction writing. If you’re not a unicorn, no one cares about your writing process. That goes for me, too. Instead of Tweeting #amwriting and blogging about your cover reveal, write about you. Let your readers know who you are outside of writing. Write about the most interesting parts of yourself. Are you a pilot? Do you love deep sea diving? Have you traveled all over Asia on foot? Whatever it is that you’ve done or that you’re interested in or an expert in, write about that.
And if you don’t have something that makes you interesting? LEARN something interesting and bring other people along for the ride.   25. Practice.I started with telling you to write everyday.
I’m going to end in the same place. None of the rest of the suggestions here can replace a daily writing habit. Write everyday and finish your manuscripts.

Tell............... Sonja Huber

Today the imperative sentence resonates with all the creepiness of forcing someone to keep a secret. For many of us, “don’t tell” in other forms has been a tight constricting rope that has mangled our voices and changed our books and the years of our lives. A writer of nonfiction discovers their own authority by telling. The good essays tell. They pronounce. They manifesto. They ask and wonder and feint and layer. Their first drafts begin, though, with shy observations and many, many apologies that what they have thought might seem weird and they are sorry they are taking any of your time at all. Describe what you see outside and what you feel inside, how the scene inside shifts and whirls and changes in your ribcage and in your skull, how chocolate and rain taste and what they remind you of. Feel things. And say them. Tell. Tell me everything. Tell me a story. Tell me the truth. Tell me lies. Tell me what you want to say. Tell so that we may all be less alone.

What’s the difference between Breaking Bad and Ozark? Both are stories about husbands and fathers who fall into criminal enterprises while trying to provide for their families. Both shows have a strong sense of place and local culture. And both explore the entire moral spectrum between elemental survival and boundless greed. (Also, both require a moderately strong stomach since they occasionally dip their toes into Quentin Tarantino levels of violence.)

MIXED REVIEWS:

71% of 200 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.1/10. Army of the Dead is a 2021 American zombie heist film directed by Zack Snyder, with a screenplay by Snyder, Shay Hatten, and Joby Harold, based on an original story by Snyder.[4] The film stars an ensemble cast consisting of Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera, Theo Rossi, Matthias Schweighöfer, Nora Arnezeder, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tig Notaro, Raúl Castillo, Huma Qureshi and Garret Dillahunt. The plot follows a group of mercenaries who plan a Las Vegas casino heist amid a zombie apocalypse.

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Feb Fear

1/22/2021

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Don Smith has joined the HAG board!

Facebook Group: Post your news!

Josh Schlossberg

Josh Schlossberg is a biological and microbial horror fiction author, editor, and publisher hiding out in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. He's a founding member of Denver Horror Collective (DenverHorror.com) and creator of Josh's Worst Nightmare (JoshsWorstNightmare.com), where he surveys the dark landscape of today's biological horror fiction.

Josh's novella, Malinae, will be unleashed by D&T Publishing in April 2021.

Short film by director Marc Pearce. Featuring HAG members Angie Guinn, Maria Morrison and David Dahman.

Evil lurks from beyond its tomb
Summoning the souls of the damned to his clutches, feeding from their auras to replenish its strength so he may reclaim his throne. In his absence, a new beast rises to claim the seat of power, threatening pain and destruction upon the world. Fueled by hatred and the lust for power, the fiend known as Atrin lurks in the shadows and slaughters the creatures known as rifters, suckling on their souls to build his own power. Two unlikely heroes, a teenage boy named Franklyn and his wolf brother named Chij, find themselves stuck in the middle of the fight between the two evils. Along the way to save the world, Franklyn and Chij overcome obstacles that would find a lesser pair dismembered and cast deep into the pits of hell. Together, they risk their lives so that the rest of the world may once again live in peace without worry of damnation on Earth. Inexperienced and unprepared, the unlikely duo discovers that the only option is to face the evil entities head on, whether the outcome results in life or death. Join them in their destiny as they embark on their Final Reverie.

Scott Essel Pratt

Josh Davis
Andrew Lennon Authors of Terror Tract and a few guests take Christmas a horrifying direction.
Filled will tales that will have you changing the words to your favorite carols.

Jonathan Lambert
Thomas M. Malafarina
Aaron Lebold
Terry Miller
L.C. Valentine
R.C. Mulhare
Edmund Stone
Derek Austin Johnson
Craig Gerard Ferguson
David Owain Hughes
Eric Kapitan
Josh Davis

Rob Shepherd
Dusty Davis
Mawr Gorshin
Andrew Lennon
C.M. Saunders & Michael McCarty

Ruthann Jagge

Ruthann grew up in Upstate New York where her favorite month of October is magical and terrifying. She currently lives on a cattle ranch in Texas and the porches on her 100 year farmhouse are painted "haint blue" just in case...If you listen closely, the night air whispering through these old fields has a lot to say. Her stories are influenced by extensive travel and appreciation for homegrown horror and superstition.Several works are in progress including a full length novel that wakes her at night for editing.

Josh was a contributor to Rue Morgue for four years, and a contributing writer for The Overstreet Guide to Collecting Horror and The Overstreet Price Guide to Star Wars Collectibles. He lives near Fort Worth, Texas with his wife Jordan, two children, and their dog Behr.

The God in the Hills is not for the faint of heart, nor is it for any die-hard feminist horror fans: all of the male characters are despicable misogynists. There is an embarrassment of riches for fans of splattergore, for certain: characters are impaled, spines are broken, and orifices are violated in the most excruciating ways imaginable. (…) Steffens’ imagery is wickedly colorful and effective, so don’t read on an empty stomach unless you’re looking to lose a few pounds.”– Rebecca Rowland (Rowland Books)

Jon Steffens is the author of the short novella The God in the Hills, and the short story “Foul Treats”, featured in the anthology Ghosts, Goblins, Murder, & Madness: Twenty Tales of Halloween.

Jon Steffens

What does your favorite color say about you?
Find out here: Personaity Traits

Kevin David Anderson

Kevin David Anderson was born in Indiana, and currently lives and writes speculative fiction in Southern California. Before becoming a writer and active member of the HWA (Horror Writers Association), Anderson earned a B. A. in Mass Communication (TCOM) with a focus on Media Production from CSUF (Fresno State), and worked as a marketing professional for more than a decade, during which he managed award-winning campaigns for both television and radio. Anderson's short stories have appeared in almost a hundred publications, from anthologies and magazines to podcasts and radio dramas. His work has appeared in multiple languages and on every continent, excluding Antarctica - mostly because penguins and polar bears don't read. Anderson was the first American to be published in the award-winning South African Horror Magazine, Something Wicked. Anderson's short story Third Shift took first position in the Top International Horror competition from Rain Fall books in the UK. Anderson has contributed to many award-worthy publications including the British Fantasy Award-winning magazine Murky Depths, and the Bram Stoker nominated anthology, The Beauty of Death from Independent Legions Publishing. Several dozen of his stories have been turned into audio productions with voice talents like Jason Hill, Rish Outfield, and Mur Lafferty, on Parsec Award-winning podcasts like Pseudopod, The Drabblecast, The Dunesteef and on the very popular Simply Scary Podcast and the No Sleep Podcast.

February Cover of the Month

When we suffer for our art....

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New Year: New Fears

12/30/2020

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How about a Wendigo or an Apex Predator, or even worse? DA Roberts has it!

Scary Blog !

Welcome to Horror Bob's Blog II. This is a Memorial blog for retired video store owner and blog interviewer Robert "Horror Bob" Masters. Eric Morse and The Wolf Pack inherited the original Horror Bob's Blog on Overblog after Robert's death in January 2012. Since then in honor of him we have strived to do quality movie reviews, interviews, and commentary to keep his memory alive....Keep on Creepin'! Unearthed Tombs: An Analysis of Poltergeist, and Poltergeist II

Link

Check out these covers!

Find Brenda Tolian in these!

Christophe Maso ------------->>>

S. Feaker is an avid story teller, lover of the paranormal and reader of the macabre. Married for eight years and a mother of three living in rural Iowa she enjoys reading, writing, spending time with her family and exploring the unknown.

Summer Feaker

The secrets here are seldom told
None are known from young to old
Songs and footsteps in the hall
Just hold your breath when whispers call
The air will chill, your body shakes
With every new soul, it will take
Listen closely to the ghosts
For they know what it aches for most
Beware of shapes the shadows make
For you will be the next it takes
Haven Manor has the beauty and elegance of a modern-day castle. But regardless of its outstanding exterior dark secrets haunt those who dare to enter. Scarlett finds herself forced into an uncomfortable move after the death of her mother in law. Being kept in the dark about its questionable history, she is on a mission to uncover its secrets. Her husband Jeremiah, on the other hand, is trying to protect his family from the dangers of Haven Manor, he leans into his addictions for comfort. With help from a few unlikely allies, they work to piece together the secrets buried under Haven Manor. And welcome to the first book in the Haven Manor Trilogy! But beware, once you enter you may not ever escape the grasp it holds on you. Get ready for a story full of twists and turns. You will not be able to put it down! Get ready for dysfunctional family dynamics, ghosts, and monsters in the hallway of this severely haunted house.

Twin Peaks changed television and inspired a new kind of horror including The X Files. A drama series set in a small town, Twin Peaks showed us that high school student had been murdered. Who killed Laura Palmer? FBI agent Dale Cooper took the case and found supernatural aspects. Lynch said, "The project was to mix a police investigation with the ordinary lives of the characters." Characters such as the log lady, Hawk, Andy, Audrey and more became household names. We cared about each and we found ones to hate: Leo, Windom Earle, and more. We discovered what goes on behind closed doors, horrific secrets, Project Blue Book and UFOs, cave secrets, that owls are not what they seem, and that the log had plenty of advice. Creamed corn is evil. And along the way, we discovered who killed poor Laura. But there was more. Beware the black lodge. Mister Lynch, we salute you!...http://tobtr.com/s/11880056..

Welcome to Wicked Little Things! Join us as we delve into an extra special episode. Tonight we have an exclusive interview with Morton Ordwell, a man sitting on death row for the conviction of two murders of women in the prostitution industry. The interview will dig deep into his mind and draw the listeners into his world at the time of the murders. This is a a once in a lifetime interview. http://tobtr.com/8767451 H

And after a general call-out, in case he was listening (cell phones are one of the most usual types of contraband available in prison), he called. The following is a cat-and-mouse type discussion that gives a view into the mind of a master-mind killer. http://tobtr.com/11839303

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More Holiday Cheer

12/16/2020

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Join the cast and director of CRAVE

THE HOOSIER BIGFOOT

Verona Jones

This week is about Indiana’s cryptid. Indiana has fascinating cryptids, which include a demon snake. This demon snake haunts a graveyard in Evansville, Indiana. Witnesses say the demon snake has red glowing eyes and has horns on its head.
I wanted to write about the demon snake, which is an exciting story I will write later. This week is the Indiana Bigfoot.
The cryptid reported most times is the Evansville Monster. Yes, it is a Bigfoot-like creature. Indiana State University Folklore Archives is the largest university-based folklore repository in the Midwest. Tony Ward, an Archives representative, recorded Janet Archibald’s first-hand account. Archibald told of a tall, large-footed, man-like monster seen by many witnesses. The couple was parking in the woods when the monster held back a car.
TO READ MORE:

Don't use too many commas!

We often have a choice about whether or not to use a comma. But if we add them to our sentences when and where they are not needed, then we may obscure rather than clarify our meaning.
Do not use commas to set off restrictive elements that are necessary to the meaning of the words they modify. Here, for example, no comma is needed to set off the restrictive phrase of working parents, which is necessary to indicate which parents the sentence is talking about.
Many children, of working parents, walk home from school by themselves.
Do not use a comma before a coordinating conjunction (and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet) when the conjunction does not join parts of a compound sentence. In this example, no comma is needed before the word and because it joins two phrases that modify the same verb, applies.
  This social scourge can be seen in urban centers, and in rural outposts.
Do not use a comma before the first or after the last item in a series.
           The students asked their TAs to review, the assignment rubric, a sample paper and their comments, before the end of the quarter.
Do not use a comma between a subject and verb.
            Happily, the waiters, sat down during a break.
Do not use a comma between a verb and its object or complement.
            On her way home from work, she bought, a book at the bookstore.
Do not use a comma between a preposition and its object.
            On her way home from work, she bought a book at, the bookstore.

Edgar Allan Poe
Quotes

“I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.”

“All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.”

“We loved with a love that was more than love.”

“Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.”

“I have absolutely no pleasure in the stimulants in which I sometimes so madly indulge. It has not been in the pursuit of pleasure that I have periled life and reputation and reason. It has been the desperate attempt to escape from torturing memories, from a sense of insupportable loneliness and a dread of some strange impending doom.”

“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door --
Only this, and nothing more."

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Holidays

12/12/2020

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Holidays. Some become sad, some are excited about Santa, and some of us are busy calculating our word-count for the year. Highly self-critical, we wish we had added another 70K. One more interview. Two more reviews. We think of all we MUST do and have. It's enough to make the toughest writer shiver. Don't be too hard on yourself. Focus on what you have accomplished this year! There's always next year to do better, but hey...you did fine. You survived another year in the horror world.

The fighting gets tiring.
Maybe one day people will stop arguing and actually WRITE or ACT or whatever they are born to do!

Juan Perez

Juan Manuel Pérez, a Mexican-American poet of indigenous descent and the current Poet Laureate for Corpus Christi, Texas (2019-2020), is the author of Another Menudo Sunday (2007), O' Dark Heaven: A Response to Suzette Haden Elgin's Definition of Horror (2009), WUI: Written Under the Influence of Trinidad Sanchez, Jr. (2011), Live From La Pryor: The Poetry of Juan Manuel Perez: A Zavala Country Native Son, Volume 1 (2014), Sex, Lies, and Chupacabras (2015), Space In Pieces (2020), and Screw The Wall! And Other Brown People Poems (2020), as well as, the co-editor of The Call Of The Chupacabra (2018). He is the 2011-2012 San Antonio Poets Association Poet Laureate and the Lone Star State's only EL Chupacabras Poet Laureate (For Life). The former Gourd Dancer for the Memphis Tia Piah Big River Clan Warrior Society is also a Pushcart Prize Nominee as well as a SEATTAH Scholar (Striving For Excellence And Accountability In The Teaching Of Traditional American History) through the University Of Dallas. Juan is a ten-year Navy Corpsman/Combat Marine Medic with experience in the 1991 Persian Gulf War (Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, and Desert Calm) with the 2nd Marines and the 1992 Hurricane Andrew Relief Marine Air Group Task Force.

Head to where the chupacabras roam

Chupa-burra

Chupacabra sits near the mesquite tree
Happy, happy lord of the sticks is he
Growl, Chupacabra! Growl, Chupacabra!

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This two-time Teacher of the Year, along with his wife, Malia (a three-time Teacher of the Year), is a co-founder of The House of the Fighting Chupacabras Press. The former migrant field worker previously from La Pryor, currently worships his Creator, teaches public high school history, writes poetry, and chases chupacabras in the Texas Coastal Bend Area.

A DIVORCÉE DETERMINED TO GET THE BODY SHE WANTS

A SADISTIC HEALTH SPA PROMISING MIRACLES.
Where starving to death is the easy way out!

Marilyn is ready to drop the weight and stop looking like a ‘before’ photo. So when her good-for-nothing husband kicks the bucket during divorce proceedings, she thinks the perfect place to blow his dough is at a secluded New Zealand health retreat.
But more frightening than low-carb and bikinis is the sinister force on the other side of the high fences. One with dark cravings of its own…
With the daily enemas and kale salads not working, and the retreat determined to maintain their success rate, she’s signed up for an exclusive add-on package. It’s one that’ll transform her physique in ways she never imagined — even in her wildest nightmares.
Will Marilyn succumb to the shadowy power that hungers for much more than her extra curves, or will it be the spa treatments that prove fatal?
DietVale is a laugh-out-loud comedic horror novel. If you like cringe-worthy creepiness, snarky heroes, and moments both sublime and terrifying, then you’ll love Low’s spine-tingling tale.

TRIGGER: Contains rape and torture. It also contains retribution that involving a cricket bat and a cast iron frying pan.

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Chupa-burraChupacabra sits near the mesquite treeHappy, happy lord of the sticks is heGrowl, Chupacabra! Growl, Chupacabra!

A DIVORCÉE DETERMINED TO GET THE BODY SHE WANTS

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Double WIN!!!!!
Halloween Oct. 31
HAG Awards Nov.1

Imposter syndrome is a psychological pattern in
which an individual doubts their accomplishments
and has a persistent internalized fear of being
exposed as a “fraud”.

7 Tips for Scaring Your Readers
Use the environment.
Use your own fears.
Write longer sentences.
Make your readers breathe faster. Leverage fear of the unknown. Avoid clichés.
Practice.

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Shunta Grimes

What does your favorite color say about you?
Find out here: Personaity Traits

THE HOOSIER BIGFOOT

Edgar Allan Poe
Quotes

Chupa-burra

Chupacabra sits near the mesquite tree
Happy, happy lord of the sticks is he
Growl, Chupacabra! Growl, Chupacabra!