HER HEART BEATS FOR ANCIENT BEASTS by Calvin Demmer

Ancient beings, merciless monsters, unearthly creatures, and other beasts roam these pages.

A short story collection.

When the author of this short story collection reached out, I was excited about reading his latest selection of short stories because I've enjoyed the other ones Calvin has released.

Here are my thoughts on each story...

HIGHWAY HUNGER: I really enjoyed this one. There's some great imagery and Dudley Ellington is a flawed but likeable main character.

NEVER SLEEP AGAIN: Reginald Barton is a retired cop facing a freaky case all over again. It's also my favourite story in this collection. LOVED how the creepy sense of dread is strong all the way through. Fantastic.

ANOTHER WARRIOR IN PARADISE: Senghor's story is all about blind faith and how sometimes it's best not to prove yourself.

HER HEART BEATS FOR ANCIENT BEASTS: Officer Rupert finds himself in the middle of a very strange situation that takes the reader into a bizarre mystery set in a vivid location. This is a great example of why I enjoy small-time horror so much.

THE RIVER RAN RED: Asani's story about rituals serves a purpose but doesn't hold many surprises. The descriptions were lovely, though.

KARMA: This is a clever cautionary tale about what we're doing to our precious planet told from Doctor Charles Carrington's POV after he crosses paths with a heavily injured woman. Some stunning imagery in this narrative. 

SHAPES IN THE WATER: A story about two brothers, a wormhole, a strange place, and a very freaky ending. Really liked that ending!

THE THRONE OF SPACE AND TIME: The format in this one is a little different. The tale unravels via a very interesting letter written by a historian called Phillip Murdoch.

FORBIDDEN FRUIT: All I'm going to say about Todd and Dan is that sometimes, you get what's coming to you. Lots of lovely imagery in this one too.

THE DESTROYER: A story of Egyptian mythology proportions.

Well, there you have it. This turned out to be quite an interesting collection of eclectic short stories and each tackles some kind of moral or commentary about our world and the way people relate, treat or act around their surroundings.

Every story featured many interesting characters. Some that I really liked, others not so much. I enjoyed some more than others, but every single story is well written.

You should definitely check out this short story collection with an awesome cover. Seriously, love that cover!

Her Heart Beats for Ancient Beings will be released in March 2024 for pre-order.

This Novel is Done!

Hey, how are you today?

Well, this week I got stuck into the final read-thru of my current revision. That means I sat down with my Paperwhite and read the story from start to finish.

This is when any weird sentences or repeated words stand out. Also, awkward phrasing and any excess. During this part of the revision process, I focus on all the nitty-gritty details. I added some words, then cut a bunch more. I also made all the changes on the Word doc after finishing each chapter.

Technically, I reached The End yesterday, but had to tweak a few last-minute details before calling it done.

The final word count is: 70,264.

I'm really excited about finishing this feminine rage, unhinged horror novel. It's full of unlikeable characters, complicated situations, toxic friendships, and a lot of manipulation. This is a dark story about the strange things that happen in the woods. It's also nonlinear, so I had a lot of fun putting all the puzzle pieces together. And scrambling them. 😁

Now that it's done, I'm mentally exhausted and need a few days off. Good thing it's a long weekend. Yay.

Have an awesome day!
 

More Revision & Some Editing!

Hey! How are you today? It's been a SUPER busy week, and it's left me feeling mentally exhausted. To be honest, the shitty weather didn't help. 😫

I'm SO glad the weekend is finally here!

Anyway, my goal for this week was to get through the third draft of the unhinged/wild novel I'm currently revising. So, I got stuck into it on Monday afternoon and ended up reaching the end by Wednesday night. Yay! It always feels good to reach this point because it means the story is almost done. There's only one more check left to do: to read the whole thing on my Paperwhite.

Actually, it's already sitting there waiting for me. LOL.

The word count is now: 70,932.

That's right, this story has made it past the 70k mark. I mean, I knew I was going to make some additions, but also deleted quite a bit. Not sure what the final-final word count will be, but that's next week's problem. 😅

After finishing such an extensive revision, I like to give myself a bit of a break. So the intention was to take Thursday, Friday and the weekend off to recharge my batteries. BUT!! Edits hit my Inbox on Thursday morning and there's no way I'm going to leave them there. Especially since I'm determined (obsessed) to get my WIP finalised next week...

So, I got stuck into the edit and managed to get it done. Sure, I kept working into the early hours of Saturday morning, but I was determined to get it done because I want to enjoy the weekend. I really need these two days off so I can be clear-headed when I start the final read-thru on Monday. Oh, and I have to decide on a title...

Well, that's it for now.

I'm going to enjoy the weekend with my awesome husband. And now that the weather has changed and the sun is back, I hope it sticks around for a while.

Have a great one!

Revision Time!

Hey! How are you today? I hope you all had a lovely new year! 😊

Although January always moves very slowly and my brain hasn't fully grasped that the lazy festive season is done, I decided to get stuck into my first writing project of 2024: the second draft of the novel I wrote back in November.

This is to kick-start my writing goals for this year, and to make sure that I continue to stick to my plan of staying on top of my finished first drafts. I did very well last year and revised the stories I wrote a month or two after finishing. So I want to keep that going.

Those eighteen months or so that I spent catching up on first drafts I pretty much abandoned to my hard drive motivates me enough to make sure I don't falter again. 😅

I started the revision on Monday and ended up reaching the end on Wednesday night. But last night I went back to add dates to the timeline. It was a lot trickier than I first thought but I've got everything figured out now. See, I wrote this story in a non-linear style. The events are happening in two different timelines but they're not in proper sequence. I know it sounds a bit weird, but totally fits this wild story.

Anyway, now it's done. So... yay.

This is the second draft word count: 69,152.

I'm very happy with this progress and can't wait to start the third draft next week. This is a strange little tale about unhinged women who aren't likeable, but sure as hell are interesting. They get up to some seriously crazy stuff and I'm looking forward to getting this finished and hopefully out into the world.

Well, asides from that, I've been having a nice week with my husband. Though there is one pesky thing that is causing me some anxiety. A publisher I signed a contract with last year has decided to stop communicating. I've tried to reach out with no success, but I have to keep trying.

That's it for today. Hope you all have an awesome weekend! ☺️

 

First 2024 Reads: Two Short Stories by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Lover by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I wanted to start the year with something quick and sharp, and this story definitely did the trick.

Judith longs to be free and escapes to a small shack in the woods whenever she can. Still, she can't escape all the chores and responsibilities that her prettier older sister, Alice, makes her do. Not until she really opens her eyes...

Wow, I loved this deliciously wicked fairy tale!

It's a little Red Riding Hood, a bit Cinderella, with a good dose of folklore thrown in, and a lot of adult content. Yeah, this is a great story!

I'm not surprised I enjoyed it so much because I LOVE every story I've read written by this awesome author.

 

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The Tiger Came to the Mountains by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Since I had another Silvia Moreno-Garcia short story on my Kindle, and it's Friday, I decided to get stuck into it.

It's 1917 in Mexico and a revolution is going on outside a small farm with two women and a bunch of children. But thirteen-year-old Machorra longs for adventure, and she finds it in the mountains while hiding there with her sickly brother...

Well, that turned out to be quite an intriguing tale of family, adventure and myth. I like how it's also a little mystical and leaves you wondering. There's quite a bit of cruelty too, not so much in the actions, but in the words.

It's another great tale by this author. I really enjoy the way she tells a story.

View all my reviews

Some Kind of Goals

HAPPY NEW YEAR! ☺️🎉

The beginning of January always feels like a clean slate. A time to make personal plans and goals. A chance to get stuck into new things or continue doing the familiar, but with a new twist.

So, it's time for me to post my 2024 Goals.

I don't like to make New Year resolutions because I never stick to them. But I do put together a goals list because there are always things I want to accomplish.

This is everything I'd like to achieve/continue to do this year:

• Go for long daily walks
• Really get back into yoga and schedule maybe two workouts a week
• Brainstorming a bunch of ideas
• Celebrate the book/s coming out this year
• Write between 100-200k words
• Read 52 books
• Revise/finalise the first draft (unhinged women/girls novel) I wrote during November 
• Work on edits as they hit my Inbox
• Write a novel or two
• Write a novella or two
• Write some new short stories
• Finally put together/finalise my first short story collection & find a place to sub it to
• Continue to submit stories
• Keep playing Animal Crossing and get into some other cozy, cute puzzle games (ie. Fae Farm)

Well, these are my goals. ☺️

Are you making a list this year?