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Wednesday 21 October 2015

THE DEAD HOUSE by Dawn Kurtagich

Carly gets the day.
Kaitlin has the night.
But what is the truth?

Twenty-five years ago, Elmbridge High School burned down. The blaze killed three and injured twenty, and one pupil, Carly Johnson, disappeared. For two decades, little was revealed about what became known as the Johnson Incident.

Until now.

A diary has been found in the ruins of the school. In this diary, Kaitlyn Johnson, Carly's twin, tells of the strange and disturbing sequence of events leading to the incident.
But Kaitlyn doesn't exist. She never has.


October is here, which means it's time to get stuck into some creepy books. So when I received this from Hachette--thanks for sending me a copy!--I had to get stuck into it first chance I got. :)

Carly Johnson isn't like other girls. For one, she finds herself spending plenty of time in a mental hospital ward because she suffers from DID (Dissociative identity disorder). When she's not there, she attends and resides at Elmbridge High School. She's one person during the day, and another at night. Carly lives during the daylight hours, and Kaitlyn exists during the night. 

They are two souls living in one body. Two very different personalities. They never see each other and have never spoken because one fades when the other appears. The two girls leave each other messages and keep separate diaries. They also share friends, though Kaitlyn prefers to be alone in the darkness of night. Until she meets a guy who really seems to get her.

When Kaitlyn wakes up one morning, she figures out that Carly is missing. She's vanished and Kaitlyn can't get her back. Did something happen while messing around with a spirit board during a Halloween party? Did someone make Carly vanish? Or is there something more dubious going on? If Kaitlyn wants her sister back, she'll have to delve deep into her own mind and face a darkness she never imagined. Not to mention put trust in friends who might be working against her...

This is such an interesting book! Told via newspaper clippings, diary excerpts, random messages, interviews, and camera footage, a wicked story slowly unhinges. Throwing the reader into some pretty screwed up situations that keep you guessing until the very end.

The Dead House is an intriguing, freaky, spooky story that will make your skin crawl as you start to doubt what's real and what isn't as much as Kaitlyn does. There are quite a few creepy scenes, and the found-footage format really worked in this book. I was wondering how that would go... but I really liked it, and thought the way this story was told added to the reading experience. I also have to mention how pretty this book is. The pages are marked, the font is different for each situation, and the inside cover is lovely.

I really enjoyed this! It's perfect for Halloween.

The Dead House, October 2015, ISBN 9781780622347, Orion Children's Books

Monday 12 October 2015

I have some news!


Last year I wrote two Sierra Fox spin-offs.

This year, I revised and submitted them.


 Now I'm very happy to announce that I just signed a contract for the second ELSEWHERE book.

So, yep, I signed another contract with Samhain Publishing.

The second spin-off book features Sierra's younger sister, Willow. She's a necromancer and parapsychologist, so her story deals with the darker side of the poltergeist phenomena. Willow also shares my love for 80’s horror, so her story is full of movie references.

Now all of the stories set in Sierra's world will be available in one place. :)


BTW, Willow's stand-alone book is called...

RAISING SOME HELL.

Tuesday 6 October 2015

Print Release: A Stitch on Time


The fifth and final book in my Sierra Fox urban fantasy series is now available in print!
 
Like the ones before it, this paperback is absolutely beautiful.

All it takes is a little death and mayhem to make a spook catcher’s day.

Sierra Fox, Book 5

Sierra Fox has finally inherited her grandmother’s power to destroy demons, but what good is it when her werewolf boyfriend still lies in a coma? Worse, the decision she’s about to make could save him—but ruin their relationship.

If that’s not enough bad stuff on her plate, she’s got a soul to save—the soul of her closest friend, killed by the Lamia that got away.

Another untasty side dish: The Obscurus refuse to give up their relentless pursuit, and they’ve upped the ante. Mace is dead set on blowing up the Spook Catcher Council Tower, and the blowback will have devastating effects on Sydney and for Sierra. At least these demon-obsessed freaks aren’t counting on Sierra having a Goddess and a trusty demonic conduit as backup.

All of this leads to a one-way ride into the abandoned part of town, where the Obscurus plan to summon Legion. With her demon hunter friend by her side, Sierra prepares for the final battle…because even she knows this will be The End.

 
Warning: Phantasms, wraiths, orbs, demons, all guaranteed to ruin any spook catcher’s day. But you can always count on werewolves, land spirits, and a Goddess. Beware of explosions, demonic obsessions, and the battle that will tip the scales and change Sydney forever.
 
 
Samhain Publishing | The Book Depository | Amazon | Amazon UK
 
 
 

Friday 2 October 2015

October is 'ere!


That's right! It's Michael Myers month, everybody.
 
Also happens to be the birthday month of both my hubby and my daughter. And the time to celebrate all things spooky. That time of year where all I want to do is read scary books and watch horror movies. When it's time to start listening to The Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack.
 
I might be listening to it right now... :)
 
Wow. I can't believe I've been MIA for so long. OMG. I think this is my last real post. Back in August! O.o Seriously, was I trying to set some kind of record? Nah. Just been caught up doing a bunch of things, and not feeling well. The change of season always gets me.
 
I even lost my voice last week. Luckily, it's back now.
 
Shortly after the above blog post, I received the first round of edits for HELL OF A RIDE. While it was awesome to return to Lavie's world, and I had a great time strengthening everything, it almost broke my brain a little. LMAO. It took me almost two weeks to do, which is way too long for me. But the results were great!
 
Then I took a reading break before the second round came back. This time around, I actually enjoyed it a LOT more and managed to get it done in half the time. Not to mention that my new editor--Laura--pointed out a bunch of things that needed fixing. After I did, the story is definitely shinier. And the love story at the core of it is deeper.
 
I'm so proud of Lavie & Saul's story, and am super glad that Laura is just as excited about it.
 
I'm not sure when the FLE round will come back to me, but I hope it's not next week. Hubby has a week off work, so I won't be working on anything. It's going to be a nice break. Though it'll probably go way too fast. :/ Still, I'm gonna enjoy some time alone with him.
 
So, what have I been doing this week? I've been wrapping up a few guest blog posts that I committed to. I've also been thinking a lot about new story ideas. My daughter and I watched SERAPH OF THE END the other day. It's one of her favourite animes. Though she loves a LOT of them.
 
Hubby and I also binge watched S1 & S2 of PENNY DREADFUL. What an AWESOME show! I love the humanity, the wickedness, the ideas, and the darkness of the world. I can't wait to see more of what these characters get up to.
 
There's always something to do around here. LOL.
 
Anyway. That's about it for now. I just wanted to pop in for an update.
 
Have a great weekend!



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