A Look At David Bain's Short, Island Ghosts... Cool Intro to Will Castleton Series!

Aerial Shot of Florida Keys

He was risking it because Gamer's Key was only a few miles long. At every point but its center, you could see ocean on either side. It was a straight shot from the rental cabin to the 7-11, the closest of only two markets on the entire key.
But now someone was following him.
No psychic twinge here; it was just a fact.
Not that being followed was a particularly unusual thing on an island with such roadways, but this guy was purposely keeping a steady distance.
At least it wasn't a cop...
The driver suddenly gunned it as he passed. As if Will wouldn't see him if he drove faster...

~~~

Island Ghosts

By David Bain

My last article in this JMO Blog was about another short story by Jennifer Chase, to introduce her main character in a series. David Bain has done the same in Island Ghosts. He's even offering it free at Amazon at this time.

Get It!

In skimming some reviews about shorts, I noticed that a couple indicated it was too short, not substantive... In some cases, this could be true... So potential buyers should check the length, etc., in the statistics about the story. I noticed that this author even included more information, which I appreciated:

"Island Ghosts" is a 3,000-word short story originally published in the now out-of-print hard-boiled DIME detective anthology (Futures Mysterious Press). It serves as an introduction to David Bain's Will Castleton stories, which include the full-length novel DEATH SIGHT and THE CASTLETON FILES story collection. Watch for two new Will Castleton novels coming soon: PURGATORY BLUES and RETURN TO ANGEL HILL (w/ C. Dennis Moore). 
In "Island Ghosts", "slightly psychic" U.S. Marshal Will Castleton's tropical vacation is no escape from his past. The reporter who cashed in on the tragedy resulting in Will's psychic abilities is hot on his trail as Will races time through a hurricane to save a woman's life. 

Will turned his face up to the rain. Despite the
increasing intensity, the rain was a feminine
thing today, cold and stinging but also oddly
comforting, enveloping; something--someone
you could literally lose yourself in.
There she was not, in fact. The woman in the
clouds. Directly above. She had voluminous
cumulus hair, a small, ruddy, gray floating
fleck of a nose. The contours of her aquiline face
were etched in the darker curves of the cloud.
There was a pink edge to her cloudy, swaying
form that was slightly painful to look at. She
was fading, her essence bleeding away into the
sky, slipping from material reality,
dissolving into another state.
And then she was gone. Just clouds...
It had been one of the damnable visions.
There was no question about what it
meant.
Somewhere, probably nearby, a woman's
life was in danger of fading... of
bleeding away...
~~~

Note that this story was previously published in a detective anthology. To me, this was a good sign. It goes on to say that the main character is "slightly psychic" so that gave me a clue since I enjoy paranormal stories.

I felt comfortable that I would enjoy the story, and, hopefully, the main character. And I did! 

In fact, I went out to borrow Death Sight but was promptly told I had to return the last loan I had...oops! Well, ASAP I'll be reading a full novel of this author, based upon this short. Let me know, since you, too, can get it free at this time. I think it is well worth a small price, in my opinion...

There are two issues in the story...because Will "did not" save a friend who drowned in an accident, a journalist wrote a story that tarnished his reputation. Of course, Will was not happy. The story ran even though he had been completely exonerated!

If I understood it right, Will became psychic right after he had tried to save his friend. And he was not happy to have "found it!"
Nevertheless, he had it!

And he had just received a vision...a woman,
probably somewhere on this island, was in danger.

Would he find her in time?

Readers will discover more about his paranormal abilities as this story continues, and ends. I really enjoyed it! It's fast-paced. Will is short-tempered, especially when he's upset, but still acts to be responsive...

I look forward to getting to know him better!


Highly recommended! Get it free on Amazon!


GABixlerReviews

The author of GRAY LAKE: A NOVEL OF CRIME AND SUPERNATURAL HORROR, the Will Castleton series of supernatural detective stories and novels, and several short story collections, David Bain is a community college English professor with well over 100 shorter publications in venues as diverse as WEIRD TALES and POEMS & PLAYS.

Jennifer Chase Introduces Emily Stone in Short Story...

Click over to read...

Compulsion was my first novel written by Jennifer Chase. I think I might have been one of her first fans...

She won me over in this 2009 Debut!

Here's what I said about her lead character: 

Emily Stone is an unusual character. She does not have a job, or at least not now. She was once in law enforcement but became a whistle blower, which essentially forced her to leave. Since then, she has never stopped her work--on her own; however, she has restricted her activities to finding pedophiles, and sometimes serial killers, gathering sufficient evidence, and turning it all over to the local police departments. She is competent, computer savvy, and has the needed instincts to research and gather sufficient evidence long before others barely get started.

If you've been reading Chase like I have, and seeing the numbers steadily increase from readers of my blog, you will know that she's been getting better and better! 

Sometime recently I've committed for my impression of prequels...Normally I don't see a need for them, but other fans apparently like to find out how the main character evolved. (For me I'd rather discover that within full novels, but that's Just My Personal Opinion, Of Course...)

So when I saw a short by Chase, I automatically went out to get it.  My only caution is for those who are like me...you may not see a need... I'd rather you spent your time and money with her first book Compulsion, which is the same price at the time of writing this article...

You can look at this as a prequel, or just a short story that places Emily back in her teens... I plan on sharing the story with my great-niece Rachel who had considered going into law enforcement (CIA!) at one time. Although it is somewhat dark, I think it reveals how our present often affects the path that we choose later on in life.


It was warm and humid, so Emily begged her parents that she wanted to walk home alone.   After careful consideration, and some hesitation, they finally agreed.   Emily loved the nighttime in Valparaiso.   After the warm Indiana day and sudden afternoon rain shower, the evenings offered a new look at the landscape and the entire neighborhood.   Fireflies lit up the trees with a dancing display.   Green grass, shrubs, and trees highlighted the sidewalk; some still had moisture droplets from the recent shower that sparkled in the evening light. The aroma was intoxicating. The feelings of fast ending summer elevated everything outside and made the ordinary seem extraordinary.  At least that was what Emily imagined. 

Emily’s mom and dad would come home within the next hour.   They wanted to take a leisurely walk together to enjoy the evening.   They were like that, still in love, and cherished their time together.

But her parents never came back. And they never found who had killed them that night...

Within a very short time, she had relocated, was in a new school, and a student she had just met was murdered...

Trauma can either change you or affect you, either positively or negatively. What it did to Emily was allow her to realize she had to be able to participate when something like this happened in the future...  If you haven't met Emily Stone, this is a good starter book. But if you have, I'd recommend you go directly to one of her novels. If you enjoy Emily and have a desire for her background, check this one at that time... This is too little to quench a fan's thirst, once you've already met this formidable character...


GABixlerReviews

Biography

Jennifer Chase holds a bachelor degree in police forensics and a master's degree in criminology. Her intense curiosity in the psychological aspect of crime is what drives her to write crime fiction. She lives in California, where she's currently at work on her next book in the series. For more information, please visit www.authorjenniferchase.com/

Related articles

• Indie Wednesday - Dead Burn by Jennifer Chase
• Interview with Jennifer Chase, Author of 'Dead Burn'
• Interview: Jennifer Chase, Author of 'Dead Burn'

November Echo's Glenda Bixler, Seriously Injured During Efforts to Save Talanov, Now Completely Recovered, According to Author...

James Houston Turner in his Latest update to Fans has reported that Glenda Bixler has now completely recovered and is back at work on her latest FBI case.

Questions had been pouring in on the condition of Character Glenda Bixler, who was shot during the final moments of November Echo and rushed to the hospital in serious condition. She sends many thanks to those who asked about her, especially since she was new to the Talanov Series... She said that, "now that she had met Talanov, she was a Forever Fan that would follow him anywhere to help in his adventures... even on the Big Screen...

Turner continued with a quick update on November Echo and the Talanov Film Project and other news...

The latest good news comes from IndieReader, the toughest and most prestigious review site for indie authors and their novels. By way of introduction, IndieReader says about itself: "The only way to be featured on IR's site (and by extension our publishing partners, theHuffington Post and USA Today) is for us to read and love your book." 

http://indiereader.com/2014/01/november-echo/

Well, IndieReader did just that and had this to say: "November Echo hits the ground running, with constant action and new characters integrated flawlessly. Exceptional ... hard to put down ... Talanov is one of those charming Bond-style characters readers want to see succeed at all costs" -Kat Toland (http://bit.ly/1dBbr8O).

Congrats From BRH!

Plus, if you missed it the first time around, we're offering November Echo as a free Kindle eBook download all weekend on Amazon (http://amzn.to/18nbuhR). 

Please pass the word along to anyone you think may like to try Talanov for free.

So, What James, You Were the Centerfold???

Also, for those of you wanting a chuckle, you can read some random fun facts about Yours Truly here in my latest Author Spotlight. Check it out!

lupe540.deviantart.com

Our Talanov Film Project is moving ahead with wonderful gusto. I am just now finishing the treatment -- a 10-15 page summary of the entire story -- which has taken me longer to complete thanks to the evolving personalities of the three (Team Talanov) teenage characters who adopt Talanov against his will in South Africa. I love pushing Talanov's limits and these three are managing to do that without a whole lot of interference from me! In fact, they're giving me sleepless nights, so you can imagine what they're doing to him.

One final bit of good news: Wendy and I recently drove to San Antonio for Wendy's interview with Homeland Security. The result: Wendy is now officially a Permanent Resident of the United States!!! That shouting you hear? It's us. Thank you everyone for your awesome friendship and support. We are here to stay!!!

Congratulations Wendy! 

May 2014 be a blockbuster year for us all.

Best always,

Jim

Ok, You're Right...I don't do this for all authors... I have a thing for Talanov (the older version)... And I really enjoyed Special Agent Bixler in this novel... 

So, I might have added a little to Spudman's newsletter... 

But I'm not sorry James...

Michael Murphey Bravely Put the Main Topic of About Time On The Cover, Soooo I'm Paying Tribute...

Let's Fact It! When a book reviewer opens the mail and pulls out this book, well, for me, there were two choices... One, of course, to send it back... My first reaction was to lay it aside so I could give myself a talk about saying I'm a professional reader... Ha! It may take me several days but then I normally give in...The book is here... How bad could it be?

Actually, not bad at all! In fact, it's quite funny, except I got tired of one little overdone scene. After all, no self-respecting female scientist in the future would allow being called by her first name among a group of Drs. But I do recognize that, for some reason, men enjoy this type of word play, so... I hereby give apologies to Dr. Hu for taking advantage of this situation...and please do start using your formal title even though you'll be mistaken for Dr. Who or because it sets off a round of "Who's on First!"  Really! Have Fun With It! The men will not have nearly as much fun if you play it...

About Time

By Michael Murphey

Some might say a novel about Time Travel falls into the science fiction genre and this one--maybe even a thriller--after all there's people killing others... But, come on folks, let's be honest... this is pure Humor. In my opinion, no matter what the genre really is when you start talking about penis size as part of the work environment, well, it's very hard to consider a serious story line, don't you think? Nevertheless, I'll try to give you an overview...

In October, 2044, the Global Research Consortium in Arizona has begun to do major research on time study. Now the thrust of the "thriller" part is that this group wants to travel into the past for pure monetary gain. Well, surely, you guessed that right? Now this is supposed to be ultra top secret, but you know this world's occupants--that's an impossibility. So there were spies both inside and outside of the Laboratory. Key thing to remember is that anybody who commits to the project will be forced to sign a 5-year contract... Actually, it's a good thing there are spies there, because they make up the "good guys" in this thriller of cruel corporate espionage versus the scientific world...looking to gain more knowledge in physics to make the world better, of course...

It was the dogs that caused the underlying issues to start being questioned.

"So doesn't it bother you that they don't know why some of the dogs died?" Sheila Wilkerson whispered out of the side of her mouth while glancing up into the glowing lights above her.

"That...what?" Marshall Grissom had to replay Sheila's comment one time before he could muster the concentration to make sense of it. We should have practiced this naked was what he had been thinking. It was a mistake to let everybody keep their clothes on. The one time he'd suggested it, several of the female computer technicians had looked at him like he was the lowest bundle of perverse male hormonal scum on the planet. No one said anything, but the looks--and the barely suppressed snorts of disgust--were enough.

(That was, of course, back before the camaraderie of shared adventure had allowed everyone to loosen up and grow a sense of humor." 

Because many of the animals that were first sent had died or not even come back, the scientists had begun to experiment as to the reason. Finally, they had concluded that it was anything that was being attached to the animals that was the problem--and I do mean anything...

Conclusion: Time Travelers would have to travel naked... As you can "plainly" see from the cover above, two women and one man was selected as the first team... Let me just mention, in case you can't tell from the cover--HA! One is a statuesque blond; one is a shorter dark-hair, but quite nicely built female who is also one of the spies (this is a good thing!) 

Marta was certainly not an unattractive woman.
But Sheila...
Clearly, nobody had accounted for Sheila Wilkerson in the
nude. Throughout the training program, her beauty had been
evident to everyone involved. She was tall, with the graceful
posture of a dancer, or a matador. A slightly tomboyish face
and a subtly blunted nose were all that might keep her off
magazine covers. Her hair was styled for function, and not
looks; sometimes raven, sometimes blond, sometime auburn,
reflect of whim or mood. The aura of sexuality she cast was
pervasive...
~~~

The guy, one Marshall Grishom, is what you might call the main character...

Of Lots and lots of bets! Here's the thing, as Marshall quickly found out, they really should have practiced before they put them up on the platform! Marshall had a major problem, all he had to do was think, little on see, Sheila nude...

Well, everybody else was having similar reactions to Sheila, but they all had clothes on! So, it was inevitable, Marshall became the idol of all, because of his size, and soon bets were being made as to the speed of, you guessed it, erection... I guess that all comes with the boredom of being stuck in one place with a certain set of people, right?? Duh, right!

Now, because the bad guys were wanting to know more and be in on what was happening. BTW, even many of the employees were being kept from knowing what was happening, which was that, the reality of alternative universes was confirmed early on when Marta had not shown up at the same place that the other two had... This increased the issue of what their work could do to negatively affect the multiple universes and could result in loss of financial support which nobody wanted at that time...

So Frank was selected to join this group. Not because he wanted to, or because of his mental aptitude, but because they figured they could buy him off, which was true. On the other hand, Frank soon became quite uncomfortable in his new role! You see, he couldn't compete, in comparison with what had been discovered with Marshall (even though Frank had a much better body and had no problem with women, normally...) 

And unless we forget about the overall story line, I wanted to let you know that, in the future, dead bodies can be much more easily disposed of...

www.virgin.com

Did you get all that? Don'g worry. Except for a handful of theoretical physics, nobody else does either.
So it turns out in order to go into the past, you must manipulate the bending of space-time so it overlaps itself to create a shortcut by which you can jump from one point in time to another without having to go the long way around. Now, that involves quantum mechanics, wormholes, black holes, white holes, exotic matter, dark matter, neutrinos, and a lot of other stuff that is pretty much pointless for the vast majority of us to get into.
Or, As Raul pointed out to his gang of Travelers when they been through one too many mind-numbing lectures from the scientists, "Guys, let's just nod a lot and say 'hmmm.' The reality is at some point, we have to trust the smart people."

I should also share that the story is written in the format of what it actually is--a scientific research activity that includes the appropriate scientists wanting to have more power, the fear of losing grant funds being paramount, and then the lowly technicians who actually have the brains and do the most thinking...In this case, enter Elvin...

Thank Goodness! He also spent time watching Sheila, but he had also begun watching the monitors of the machine and had picked up on little squiggles that seem to mean something...yes, I said "squiggles". Once he started watching these lines, he also began picking up what sounded like music--sound waves never die, even if the TV program no longer runs anywhere in any of the present universes... First he honed in on I Love Lucy, which of course still runs...and Bonanza...Star Trek... and many more. Soon Elvin had presented his findings to the top 3 scientific program leaders and quickly convinced them he was right... The various songs found could possibly be used to direct travel to specific locations. Cool, right? I know it's been done on at least one TV movie, but it was still funny here... 

Except...Beware of the location where you go...

Yes, they do wear clothes in this universe, have their own language, but they just happened to be reptiles...

Did I tell you that when the Travelers go back in time, they "enter" the brain of their counterpart at that time or location? And, by the way, the future? Don't think about it... They're causing their own problems!

Fortunately, thanks mostly to Marta who I haven't talked about too much, except I will share she finally gets it on with...yes...

Marshall and they're going to work on their relationship, even if she... wears a gun...LOL

Well, I certainly have had fun putting this review together for you and finding just the right pictures to help you see what's this book is all about. It was an interesting break from the true scifi thrillers I get...and I'm not sure that the research is far along enough, at least as understood and presented by Michael Murphey, even though he does insert many technical explanatory notes--one caught my attention, something really, really weird about in the future the government forcing everybody to eat properly because all the gadgets created had allowed too many people to become couch potatoes... or something like that... you'll read them at your own risk if you're too scared to know more about the future--and your past... which cannot be changed completely, even if some of the tests postponed some of the events...

Now, it's your turn to have a fun time...I promise that even with all the sex, it's been handled in a humorous fashion and should not be offensive to most. Any actual scenes are milder than most of today's adult novels. So...with guidance...you may even consider it for older YAs... It's fun in an ornery kind of way... If that's your thing and you want to find out more about the research of time travel...you couldn't find a better example of the physics behind the naked time travelers and this cockamamie idea (I think that's the right word to choose)... Enjoy!

GABixlerReviews

http://blogcritics.org/interview-with-michael-murphey-author-of-about-time/

Check out background and interview....which gives an excellent overview of the book since I dwelt, happily, on the humorous part...

Also visit his web site and blog 
http://www.michaelmurpheyabouttime.com/

The In-Between by Barbara Stewart - Great Adult Novel; Questionable YA??? JMPO, of Course...

"I turned to my mother and asked if she'd ever had a miscarriage.
She raised her eyebrows in surprise. I'd caught her off guard. Why would you ask that?"
"I don't know."
"Did you go through my things?"
Blood rushed to my face. My heart beat quickened.
"You did, didn't you?"
"I didn't. I swear. It's another one of those things. Like the lamp. Like the water stain.
"I never had a miscarriage," my mother said.
I turned back to the window. The girls--one in pink, one in yellow--were across the road now, straddling their matching bikes. They looked up and waved. The sky rumbled. I closed the window.
"Sometimes you scare me, Eleanor."
My mother went back to her box. Digging. Poking. Searching for something.
"Is this what you're talking about? She handed over two grainy, black-and-white photos on thin, filmy paper. I'd seen them before. I knew them, had held them.
"I was pregnant with twins. That's you. There were two babies, and then one day one of the babies disappeared. It wasn't a miscarriage, though. A miscarriage is different."
"If she didn't come out, where is she?
My mother let out a sound like a leaky tire, a sound that said, Can we not do this now?
Fine. You can learn anything on the Internet. It's called Vanishing Twin Syndrome. It's more common that you'd think, but that doesn't make it any less freaky. My mother was telling the truth. The baby never left her body. It entered mine. "Absorbed" is the word they use. A nice way of saying "consumed," I guess. Devoured. Ingested. It all seems the same thing: I'm a cannibal. Like I'm not defective enough.

~~~

The In-Between

By Barbara Stewart

This is an scary story, no doubt about it. It is well-written, imaginative, creative... I'm in between loving it and hating it... In fact, I decided to switch it over to my adult blog and share my thoughts...
Check out other reviews for book description; this is more a cautionary opinion review than I normally do. The book itself deserves a 4 or 5 for adults...Just my Personal Opinion, Of Course

I was bothered by this book--something like how The Exorcist once bothered me. I was an adult when I encountered both. I don't know, but it seems to me that there is nothing "sacred" any more. By that I'm not talking about religion... although I do believe in the supernatural existence of a higher power, hence the ability to conceive just about anything... My thoughts are more related to what and how we portray our own lives, in books, in movies, in music. Even if I'm older than many of you, don't think for one moment I have not at least been exposed to most of what is in life...

A tear crawled down my nose. I was crying but I didn't
know why. It wasn't my dad. It was something else.
It was Autumn. It was me. It was two freaks hanging
out in a musty clubhouse drinking warm soda, listening
for Bigfoot, discussing creepy souvenirs. Autumn
popping fruit chews like they're medicine; me, wanting
so badly to tell her how my best friend is a ghost.
What's embarrassing is that I think I was actually
having fun. Maybe "fun" isn't the right word. I didn't
feel like I wanted to be somewhere else. How messed
up is that? I'll never be normal. It's not who I am.
I've known this forever. Sometimes it just sneaks up
on me.
~~~

To me the sanctity of my own life, our own lives, how I value the body in which I'm housed, even when I don't follow all the rules, is something I've thought about. And when I'm asked to think about a book, especially when it is listed for young adults, one of the first things I think about is whether I would pass on a book to my teenage great-nieces (and their mothers, earlier, LOL)... I would not pass this book on to any member of my family and allow them to think I recommend it to them.

Laura Wiess is quoted on the front cover "A dark, compelling story of love, loneliness and obsession spun out of control...chilling, heartbreaking, and nerve-wracking...

in the best possible way..." This last phrase is what I disagree with as it relates to today's youth...

This book takes an incident of birth, where a mother was pregnant for two children, but one of them disappeared, as I understand it, consumed, or more likely, naturally absorbed by the mother's body or by the other baby's needs...

Being a twin was found out by the daughter of the couple while she is a teenager... Whether or not she should have been told about that was, of course, a parental decision and perhaps these parents did.  After Elanor finds out, she begins to have dreams, one of which is a child actually eating the other, in the most horrible ways imaginable in our nightmares...

There is another issue about the book, probably because of my own situation where I became clinically depressed, burnout, emotionally unstable--whatever you want to call it. For this book, the young girl has had emotional issues in the past. And there is quite a bit of reference of her stealing her mother's pills and/or trying to get them illegally. Of course, that had to be the case in order for what happened to have happened...

Someone wants to kill me. I don't understand.
What did I ever do to anybody? What did I do to
deserve a note in my locker that says I must die?
ELANOR MUST DIE.
...I'm sure it's the same demented person who
drew the picture in the girls' bathroom. It has to
be... He doesn't know about the baby eating the
baby on the bathroom wall. I didn't tell him,
because I didn't want to explain what the picture
meant, how I knew it was meant for me...
Why would someone write something like that?
I have friends. No one wanted to kill me when my
life sucked. When I wanted to die, no one wanted
me dead. I had to try to do it myself. Maybe it's
someone like Old Ellie, someone with nothing,
someone with no one. I used to hate girls like
me--New Ellie--because they had what I
wanted: a life.
Don't freak out. How can I not freak out? How
can I not take it seriously? Rad's being naive.
My fear isn't irrational. Stuff like that goes on
all the time. You see it on TV, in breaking news:
Bully Poisons Classmate.
Troubled Boy Apprehended in School-Shooting
Rampage.
Teen dies from Knife Wound.
!!!

In case you haven't read much in this area, we seem to have a troubled time for youth--maybe it's known more because they somehow find guns, take them to schools, and let other people know about their feelings. Is it because, I wonder, that they feel so out of control, but think they have no support system to help them? Is it because we label every lapse of emotional stability as to what is behind the horror movies, books, and, ultimately, real life that we exploit for entertainment.

If, when I began to cry for no reasons (I thought at the time) and couldn't stop, I had not known, automatically, that I was not at fault--it was something outside, namely work overload, that resulted in my inability to control my emotions, then I have no idea what I would have done, other than to know that I had unconditional family support available to me. Not every teenager has that "sure" knowledge.

All I ask, because I can't say that this book is not a unique story worthy of an adult's reading, that if you are considering it for, or as a YA book, that you realize that this is not real--it is a story made up for  entertainment. 

Explain this to your child if they want to read it. And authors, if you are going to write horror, consider some issues as sacred, especially the emotional, inner thoughts and hopes of teenagers about their lives and
their bodies. 


GABixlerReviews








I spent the first nineteen years of my life wanting to be someone else: Laura Ingalls, Elton John, Nancy Spungen, Andy Warhol, Marilyn Monroe, Sylvia Plath. It was hard finding work as any of those people, so I went to college. That was hard, too, because I had to pick a major. I was interested in a lot of things—psychology, sociology, history—but none of them screamed "career" at me.

Listen To Interview...

And then my English professor asked if I wanted to write a short story for extra credit. I gave it a shot. And then I wrote another and another…I couldn’t stop. I knew what I wanted to do.

I finished my BA in English, married the awesome Dave Kopacek, and moved to the Midwest to get an MFA in Creative Writing. Fast forward through two businesses, a wood-paneled station wagon, a Route 66 pilgrimage, a close call with a tornado, a 1967 Cadillac, a soul-trying move back East, a Shining-like winter in the woods, a run-in with a rabid raccoon, the restoration of an old house, and I still don’t know who I am, but that’s why I write. I’m a kid again; I get to be whoever I want: the tomboy, the rock star, the crazy artist, the drug-sick groupie, the goddess, the suicidal poet.

Now I live in the Catskill Mountains with my still awesome husband and an odd little cat named Shirley. I read a lot of true crime and crochet way too many scarves. I love amusement parks, anything with peanut butter, and Key West. I'm all about gritty, edgy stories with surprise endings. Dark and unsettling endings, too, because life is messy. I also like horror—the supernatural kind—thanks to my grandmother. I still can't believe some of the stuff she let me watch.

Related articles

• A conversation with young adult author Barabara Stewart
• [REVIEW] The In-Between - Barbara Stewart