What does the sparkly glitter that covers a lot of Christmas cards and various arts-and-crafts projects have in common with kudzu, an invasive ornamental plant? We can thank Henry Ruschmann, a New Jersey cattle rancher, for the invention of glitter in 1934. When not working his ranch, he dabbled as a machinist and discovered a…
Book Reviews, Fiction Writing, Horror, New Words Learned, Short Stories/Novellas, Words
A Hell for All Seasons – a Review
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• •This is a fantastic collection of short stories. Each one is horrific in its own way. From demons and the occult to curiosity and hypocrisy, the way one wrong turn can completely change a life is subtly and chillingly demonstrated. The way you look at things, including dreams, and the way you think is liable…
Book Reviews, Fiction Writing, Mystery, New Words Learned, Suspense/Thrillers, Words
Three Inspector Sheehan Short Mysteries – a Review
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• •Fiction Writing, Guest Posts, Writing
Selecting Stories For A Short Story Collection – Guest Post by Ashley Franz Holzmann
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• •There are typically three options when it comes to organizing a collection of short stories. An editor can have the writers come to them by establishing a call for submissions, or they can contact the authors directly in order to publish current stories. The third option is to find the right authors and then build…
Book Reviews, Dark Fiction, Fiction Writing, Horror, New Words Learned, Short Stories/Novellas, Suspense/Thrillers, Words
Vices and Virtues: A Horror Anthology – a Review
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• •From weird happenings in the woods to an empathic girl to the Suicide Forest in Japan, these stories are about things such as remembrance, empathy, vanity, lust, etc. “The Girl Who Died” – A girl who loves animals better than people has pity on an animal that she finds dead in the woods. She decided…
Fiction Writing, Writing
Dealing with Writer’s Block
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• •The dictionary defines writer’s block as a usually temporary psychological inability to begin or continue work on a piece of writing. Scary thought, huh? Not being able to write can shatter a writer’s ego and become a nightmare. Is writer’s block all in your head or is it real? Not everyone believes that writer’s block…
Book Reviews, Dark Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction Writing, Horror, New Words Learned, Paranormal, Suspense/Thrillers, Vampire Fiction, Words
Strigoi – a Review
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• •Something rotten is going on in the world of the aventurieri, the winged, nocturnal hunters with a dietary need for blood. Yes, they are a type of vampire. But the aventurieri can eat food, have wings, are able to reproduce, and can be shot with regular bullets. In the violent beginning, Marek Strigoi’s family is…
Author Interviews, Fiction Writing, Writing
Connie Corcoran Wilson Interview – Tetrachromatic Super Vision and a Killer Clown
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• •Who is the character of the killer clown based on? How did she choose names for the characters? Which scenes were her favorite and which ones were the hardest to write? How much research did she have to do? How does this author balance her time between family, friends, and writing? What are her thoughts…