Nightmare House by Douglas Clegg

"Nightmare House" by Douglas Clegg is a suspenseful and eerie horror novel that explores the dark corners of family history and the malevolent forces that can lurk within.

Oct 20, 2023

Map of Bones by James Rollins

"Map of Bones" by James Rollins is an exhilarating adventure novel that weaves together history, science, and high-stakes action.

Oct 02, 2023

Honeymoon by James Patterson

"Honeymoon" by James Patterson is a suspenseful and intriguing novel that explores the complexities of love, obsession, and the darker aspects of human relationships.

Sep 22, 2023

Mount Dragon by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

"Mount Dragon" by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child is a gripping techno-thriller that plunges readers into the thrilling and treacherous world of genetic engineering.

Sep 08, 2023

Plum Island by Nelson DeMille

"Plum Island" by Nelson DeMille is a gripping mystery novel that takes readers on a thrilling journey filled with suspense, intrigue, and unexpected twists.

Aug 24, 2023

Tyrannosaur Canyon by Douglas Preston

"Tyrannosaur Canyon" by Douglas Preston is a riveting blend of paleontology, suspense, and adventure, offering readers a captivating narrative of modern-day intrigue.

Aug 09, 2023

Coma by Michael Crichton

"Coma" by Michael Crichton is a gripping medical thriller first published in 1977. that explores the world of medicine, ethics, and the chilling potential for abuse in the healthcare industry.

Jul 25, 2023

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly

"Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley is a literary classic that has captivated readers for over two centuries.

Jul 14, 2023

SHIFT by Hugh Howey

"Shift" by Hugh Howey is the second installment in the Silo series, following the critically acclaimed "Wool."

Jul 07, 2023

Arctic Drift by Clive Cussler

Arctic Drift" is another exhilarating installment in the renowned Dirk Pitt adventure series, co-authored by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler.

Jun 27, 2023

Play Dead by Ted Dekker

"Play Dead" by Ted Dekker is a gripping thriller that challenges the boundaries of reality, illusion, and identity.

Jun 16, 2023

WOOL by Hugh Howey

"Wool" by Hugh Howey is a modern dystopian science fiction novel that has garnered widespread acclaim and a devoted fanbase.

Jun 05, 2023

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.

May 26, 2023

Killing Floor by Lee Child

Killing Floor plunges readers into a high-stakes mystery from the very first page.

Apr 05, 2023

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.

Mar 27, 2023

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.

Mar 10, 2023

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.

Mar 10, 2023

The Outsider

Stephen King's "The Outsider" is a gripping and unsettling novel that combines elements of horror, crime, and mystery fiction.

Feb 25, 2023

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.

Feb 01, 2023

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.

Dec 19, 2022

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.

Dec 10, 2022

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.

Nov 30, 2022

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.

Nov 12, 2022

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.

Oct 31, 2022

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.

Oct 09, 2022

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.

Sep 22, 2022

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.

Sep 05, 2022

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.

Aug 31, 2022

The Other Emily

The novel begins with David receiving a call from Emily, who he thought had been dead for five years.

Aug 31, 2022

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.

Aug 15, 2022

The Shining

One of the strengths of "The Shining" is King's ability to create a sense of foreboding and tension throughout the novel.

Jul 23, 2022

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.

Jun 30, 2022

Deep Storm

When Crane arrives at the oil rig, he observes that the rig has obviously been refitted for a different kind of operation.

Jun 15, 2022

Old Bones

Archeological Expedition to find and excavate the lost camp of the Donner Party.

May 30, 2022

Ghost Story

This story was originally released back in 1979. This story was then made into a movie in 1981.

May 08, 2022

Paranormal Activity

The movie Paranormal Activity was a tiny bit better in that the footage was from cameras not being operated by a person.

May 01, 2022

Ghostbusters

For me, Ghostbusters was the very first haunting comedy that I had experienced as a child. It was refreshing and fun.

Apr 24, 2022

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.

Apr 18, 2022

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.

Apr 10, 2022

Stir of Echoes

I love a good quality let’s seal a dead body in the wall type of movie.

Apr 02, 2022

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.

Mar 27, 2022

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.

Mar 20, 2022

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.

Mar 13, 2022

Nightmare House

Clegg has cleverly woven a chilling tapestry that tells a story that combines hallucinations, poltergeists, and manifestations.

Mar 07, 2022

Hell House

I found the pacing in this haunted house story to be much different than other similar stories that I have recently read.

Feb 05, 2022

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.

Jan 28, 2022

Ghost Stories

The idea of ghosts has been around for a very long time in one shape or another.

Jan 18, 2022

Tell-Tale Heart

I enjoy reading the works of Poe as much for the stories as I do for the style of his writing.

Dec 05, 2021

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.

Nov 28, 2021

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

Nov 21, 2021

My Sister, the Serial Killer

This week I read a story called my sister the serial killer by Anakin Brathwaite.

Nov 14, 2021

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.

Nov 14, 2021

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.

Nov 07, 2021

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

Oct 31, 2021

Sharp Objects

This week I had the opportunity to read a story called Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn.

Oct 24, 2021

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.

Oct 15, 2021

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.

Oct 10, 2021

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.

Oct 03, 2021

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.

Oct 03, 2021

Red Dragon

Red Dragon is a novel written by Thomas Harris. Prequel to Silence of the Lambs.

Sep 26, 2021

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.

Sep 26, 2021

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.

Sep 16, 2021

Writing About Serial Killers

I learned some interesting facts about serial killers. I can select the type of serial killer I want to employ.

Sep 09, 2021

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.

Sep 09, 2021

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.

Sep 07, 2021

American Psycho

The main character, Bateman is a shallow, self absorbed, psychopath who obliviously flaunts his horrific escapades.

Sep 03, 2021

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

Aug 27, 2021

Real Life to Inspire Fiction

First of all, I never knew until now that Phycho had been loosely based upon a real serial killer.

Aug 26, 2021

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

Aug 26, 2021

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.

Jun 12, 2021

Suspension of Disbelief

When I think about “Suspension of Disbelief” it seems like a simple question on the surface right?

May 27, 2021

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.

May 18, 2021

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.

May 17, 2021

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.

May 09, 2021

The Blob

This was a fun one that took me back. The blob with Steve McQueen.

May 05, 2021

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.

Apr 25, 2021

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.

Apr 21, 2021

Godzilla 2014

This week in our reading and genre class one of our assignments was to watch the movie Godzilla.

Apr 16, 2021

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.

Apr 15, 2021

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.

Apr 15, 2021

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.

Apr 09, 2021

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!

Apr 08, 2021

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.

Apr 08, 2021

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.

Apr 08, 2021

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.

Mar 31, 2021

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.

Mar 30, 2021

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.

Mar 27, 2021

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.

Mar 27, 2021

Setting

In this essay we learn how to leverage setting to improve our story telling. In some cases setting is even considered a character.

Mar 21, 2021

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.

Mar 19, 2021

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

Mar 13, 2021

Cycle of the Werewolf

This week for my Reading in Genre class we read the book Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King.

Feb 25, 2021

Breeding Ground

Over the past couple of weeks I have had the opportunity to read a book called Breeding Ground by Sarah Pinborough.

Feb 19, 2021

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.

Feb 09, 2021

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.

Feb 09, 2021

I Am Legend

I recently read a book entitled I am Legend that was written back in 1954 by a man named Richard Matheson.

Feb 02, 2021