Genesis Conspiracy by James Prescott
The story follows Dr. Tom Green, a geneticist who is working on a top-secret project that could change the course of human evolution.
The Island by Adrian McKinty
readers are transported to a world where danger lurks around every corner, secrets lie buried in the past, and the will to survive is tested to its limits.
The Maze by Nelson DeMille
"The Maze" by Nelson DeMille is a tour de force of psychological suspense that will captivate readers from the very first page.
Killing Floor by Lee Child
Killing Floor plunges readers into a high-stakes mystery from the very first page.
Island of the Dolls by Jeremy Bates
The story takes place on a small island in Mexico, where hundreds of dolls hang from the trees, seemingly watching the visitors with their lifeless eyes.
The Sleep Experiment
Jeremy Bates' "The Sleep Experiment" is a spine-tingling horror novel that explores the depths of human fear and the consequences of pushing the limits of science.
JAWS by Peter Benchley
In Peter Benchley's timeless classic, "Jaws," the deep blue sea becomes a hunting ground for a creature that strikes fear into the hearts of all who dare to venture into its domain.
The Outsider
Stephen King's "The Outsider" is a gripping and unsettling novel that combines elements of horror, crime, and mystery fiction.
Quicksilver by Dean Koontz
Carson O’Connor investigates a string of gruesome murders that seem to be connected to a mysterious substance known as “quick silver.”
Suicide Forest by Jeremy Bates
"Suicide Forest" by Jeremy Bates is a chilling and suspenseful horror novel that takes place in Japan's Aokigahara Forest.
Extinction Crisis by James Prescott
"Extinction Crisis" by James Prescott follows the continuing adventures of Dr. Sam Osman and his team as they battle to prevent a global catastrophe.
Chrysalis by Lincoln Child
"Chrysalis" is a riveting science fiction thriller that takes readers on a rollercoaster ride through the depths of cutting-edge technology and the limits of human imagination.
Intensity by Dean Koontz
The novel follows the protagonist, a young woman named Chyna Shepherd, as she fights for her life against a sadistic serial killer.
Extinction Code by James Prescott
"Extinction Code" by James Prescott is a gripping science-fiction thriller that follows the story of Dr. Sam Osman, a brilliant geneticist who discovers a dangerous secret about the human genome.
Elsewhere by Dean Koontz
Elsewhere is a thrilling and suspenseful novel by Dean Koontz that follows Jeffy Coltrane, a young boy whose life takes a turn for the worst when his mother is brutally murdered in their home.
Forgotten Room by Lincoln Child
Forgotten Room is a thrilling novel by Lincoln Child that revolves around the discovery of a mysterious room in a long-abandoned mansion.
Merfolk by Jeremy Bates
The story follows a group of divers who stumble upon a hidden underwater world inhabited by a dangerous and mysterious species of aquatic beings.
Extinction Countdown by James Prescott
"Extinction Countdown" is a gripping science-fiction thriller that follows Dr. Sam Osman and his team as they race against time to prevent a global catastrophe.
Big Dark Sky by Dean Koontz
Big Dark Sky is a suspenseful thriller by Dean Koontz that follows a former soldier named Jane Hawk, as she investigates a mysterious conspiracy that threatens the safety of the entire world.
Terminal Freeze by Lincoln Child
Terminal Freeze takes place in a remote research station in Alaska where a team of scientists discovers a mysterious creature frozen for millions of years.
The Institute by Stephen King
Stephen King's "The Institute" is a suspenseful and unsettling novel that centers on a group of children with special abilities who are held captive at a secret facility.
The Other Emily
The novel begins with David receiving a call from Emily, who he thought had been dead for five years.
The Mountain of the Dead by Jeremy Bates
"The Mountain of the Dead" by Jeremy Bates is a gripping and suspenseful thriller that takes readers on a chilling journey to the remote and treacherous Dyatlov Pass in Russia.
The Shining
One of the strengths of "The Shining" is King's ability to create a sense of foreboding and tension throughout the novel.
The Third Gate
The Third Gate by Lincoln Child is a thrilling adventure novel that follows the story of Jeremy Logan, an enigmalogist, as he travels to Egypt to investigate a strange discovery.
Deep Storm
When Crane arrives at the oil rig, he observes that the rig has obviously been refitted for a different kind of operation.
Old Bones
Archeological Expedition to find and excavate the lost camp of the Donner Party.
Ghost Story
This story was originally released back in 1979. This story was then made into a movie in 1981.
Paranormal Activity
The movie Paranormal Activity was a tiny bit better in that the footage was from cameras not being operated by a person.
Ghostbusters
For me, Ghostbusters was the very first haunting comedy that I had experienced as a child. It was refreshing and fun.
The Exorcist
I grew up watching The Exorcist. As a youngster, this movie was a horrifying experience for me. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the thrill of the horror.
The Shining
The Shining is my number one favorite story of all time. I have read the book multiple times and I have seen the movie countless times.
The Amityville Horror
The original book was marketed as a true story. As a child, I believed that this story was true and that horrified me.
Grave's End
This story is a bit different then some of the other haunting book I have read. Most haunting books that I have experience with take place in old crumbling manors or estates.
The Others
This is due to the fact of the twist at the end where we learn that the point of view that we originally assumed to be true was simply not so.
Nightmare House
Clegg has cleverly woven a chilling tapestry that tells a story that combines hallucinations, poltergeists, and manifestations.
Hell House
I found the pacing in this haunted house story to be much different than other similar stories that I have recently read.
The Haunting of Hill House
When a house takes on a life of its own and drives a person into sure madness you know you have a problem.
Ghost Stories
The idea of ghosts has been around for a very long time in one shape or another.
Tell-Tale Heart
I enjoy reading the works of Poe as much for the stories as I do for the style of his writing.
House of 1000 Corpses
If you look at it for its purely gruesome nature and measure it based on shock value, then you have a winner.
Batman: The Killing Joke
I love whenever I get a chance to read a comic book or any kind of graphic novel. I especially like when the graphics are dark and dreary. That is exactly what I got
My Sister, the Serial Killer
This week I read a story called my sister the serial killer by Anakin Brathwaite.
Warning: Trigger Warnings Ahead
I am not a fan of trigger warnings. I have often speculated about whether or not there’s a place for ratings on books just like we have for movies.
Seven
This week I got to watch another old favorite movie that I think is one of the great psychopath movies out there. It’s a movie called Seven from back in 1995.
Cape Fear
This week I got to rewatch one of my favorite movies called Cape fear. In fact, I watched both versions. In doing a little bit of research to prepare for writing this blog post, I
Sharp Objects
This week I had the opportunity to read a story called Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn.
Helter Skelter
The book follows a recount to the arrest, investigation, and prosecution for a series of gruesome murders that included the murders of Sharon Tate, Rosemary LaBianca, and Leno LaBianca, among others.
Misery
Misery is a tense story about a super fan named Annie Wilkes. Paul Sheldon wakes up in pain. He is in an unfamiliar bedroom. Annie loves to tell Paul that she is his number one fan.
Silence of the Lambs
Starling is tasked with engaging an incarcerated serial killer named Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Hannibal the Cannibal) for help on profiling Buffalo Bill.
Profiling Serial Killers
In designing realistic and interesting characters, I can see using profiling as a new tool. As I contemplate this, I see a few noble reasons that support profiling.
Red Dragon
Red Dragon is a novel written by Thomas Harris. Prequel to Silence of the Lambs.
Bizarre Murders
I had started writing a short story called Dr. Bonz. It is about a student that goes to be a research assistant for a mad doctor in a remote laboratory compound.
Halloween
This week I set out to study the cult classic horror slasher film by John Carpenter called Halloween. It is great timing since Halloween is in season.
Writing About Serial Killers
I learned some interesting facts about serial killers. I can select the type of serial killer I want to employ.
Church of Dead Girls
This week I read an interesting story called Church of Dead Girls by Stephen Dobyns. I had a love hate relationship with this book.
Writing About Crime Scenes
I am in the process of reading a book called Howdunit to learn how to write crime and police procedure in my novels. This week I learned about processing a crime scene.
American Psycho
The main character, Bateman is a shallow, self absorbed, psychopath who obliviously flaunts his horrific escapades.
Psycho
Psycho is an old-school horror story about an unremarkable man named Norman Bates. The author Robert Bloch set the story in an old
Real Life to Inspire Fiction
First of all, I never knew until now that Phycho had been loosely based upon a real serial killer.
Writing Street Cops
This week I did some reading in a book called Howdunit Street Cops. I learned quite a bit about leveraging basic law enforcement procedure to writer better characters
The Yattering and Jack
This week we read a story called The Yattering and Jack, a short story about a little demon that is not quite ready for prime time.
Suspension of Disbelief
When I think about “Suspension of Disbelief” it seems like a simple question on the surface right?
Submission Flaws to Avoid
This week one of my assignments for my Reading in genre class was to examine a passage in the book Writers Workshop of Horror.
30 Days of Night
This week I read the ’30 Days of Night’ graphic novel. I enjoyed it somewhat, but I have never been a graphic novel consumed.
Relic
This week I read the book Relic by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child that was originally published back in 1995. I have seen the movie version of the same title many times over the years.
H.P. Lovecraft
This week I read various works of H. P. Lovecraft. I have always enjoyed reading Lovecraft and watching movies that are based on his works or the monsters of his works.
Old World Monsters
This week took a look at “old world” monsters. When I think of these monsters, my mind goes way back to early mythology.
Godzilla 2014
This week in our reading and genre class one of our assignments was to watch the movie Godzilla.
Point of View
As a new writer point of view, or POV, has been one of the things that has baffled me so far. Actually, almost everything about writing has baffled me so far lol.
Favorite Monster Movies
I had to hop in my time machine and go back in time to my childhood and consider some of my favorites.
My Aha Moments
In learning about aha moments, I realized that as a new writer I have a long way to go. I have very few moments, but they do exist even at this early stage.
Monster Ideas
I have often wondered what would happen if there were self-replicating nanoparticles that changed people's DNA. Who knows they might already exist, they probably do!
The Thing
As with many of the stories I have read, The Thing is one of my all-time favorites. It is in my top five list alongside Jaws, Alien, Reanimator, and Sssssss.
SNOW
This past week I got to read a book called Snow by Ronald Malfi. I really enjoyed this book since I am very creeped out by stories that involve being trapped anywhere in a setting that is snowbound.
Personal Theme
I have never contemplated the concept of having a personal theme, or as I think of it, a personal signature or fingerprint in my writing style.
Poorly Crafted Sequels
I absolutely hate when a story is ruined by poorly crafted sequels. The examples that you mentioned are just the tip of the iceberg.
Night of the Living Dead
I love Night of the Living Dead. This classic movie in my opinion is what kicked off the whole zombie genre.
American Werewolf in London
This week I watched the movie “American Werewolf in London”. It had been many years since I had seen this classic horror movie.
Setting
In this essay we learn how to leverage setting to improve our story telling. In some cases setting is even considered a character.
Alien
This week in my Reading in Genre class, I got to watch the movie Alien. This movie is one of my all-time favorites, it is in my top 10 list.
World War Z
This week I read the book World War Z by Max Brooks. I went into this assignment assuming that the book would be the same as the movie
Cycle of the Werewolf
This week for my Reading in Genre class we read the book Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King.
Breeding Ground
Over the past couple of weeks I have had the opportunity to read a book called Breeding Ground by Sarah Pinborough.
The Funeral
This week I had the opportunity to read a short story horror piece by Richard Matheson entitled The Funeral. This piece had an element of irony and humor woven throughout its pages.
Rawhead Rex
I have to say, when I first saw that Rawhead Rex was on the genre reading list, I rolled my eyes and let out an audible sigh.
I Am Legend
I recently read a book entitled I am Legend that was written back in 1954 by a man named Richard Matheson.