Book Review: WRAPPED IN BLACK

Wrapped in Black: ThirteenTales of Witches and the Occult

Read in November, 2014

I am a big fan of Sekhmet Press and their WRAPPED Series. Wrapped in Black is the third anthology in the series and the focus this time is witches and the occult. I will admit, witches aren’t my favorite characters to read about. I rarely find myself drawn to a book because it’s about witches, like I am with books about vampires or time travel. But Sekhmet has yet to disappoint me with their anthologies, so I was very happy to read this one!

COMING SOON: Wrapped in Black

I am very excited for my friends at Sekhmet Press. WRAPPED IN BLACK: Thirteen Tales of Witches and the Occult has a great line up of contributors and I cannot wait to get my hands on this collection!

My Favorite: Stephen King

My Love of the King

My love for the writing of Mr. King is no secret. If you know me, you know my feelings for the Master of Horror. I have not read every single piece of his work, there are odd short stories out there that I will never have the joy of reading. Of his main list of published novels and collections, numbering 64 as of this writing, seven remain unread, and The Shining sits forlornly half-read. I’ll get to them all eventually, I hope. One of the joys of discovering King was the amount of titles. And his wonderful habit of releasing one book a year (lately two a year). I feel there will always be an unread Stephen King novel waiting for me.

Doctor Who: The Eleventh Hour (Series 5, Episode 1)

Rewatching “The Eleventh Hour”

After participating in The Doctor Who Project with Allison M. Dickson and Justin Wasson, I have been rewatching episodes of the show. Tonight I watched “The Eleventh Hour.” This episode is the first adventure of the 11th Doctor, Matt Smith, and his fiery new companion, Amelia Pond.

Here are my original thoughts of this episode from our Series 5 Review:

“I thought this was a great welcome to the new Doctor. I could already tell Eleven was going to be as brilliant as Ten, but with a little added insanity. The scenes with him and young Amelia in the kitchen are hilarious. I didn’t know how to feel about a new Doctor and a new companion all at one time. It was a little bit of a growing period for me. But Amy Pond has that independent spirit that all companions need. The story itself was only okay, though the comatose patients were a bit creepy. And the crack in the wall definitely opened up some questions. New Doctor, new companion, new showrunner, new TARDIS. Whoa, a lot to take in. 6 Sonics”

Well, this go around it was even better. I already love Matt Smith as the Doctor so there is no nervous anticipation. Plus all the knowledge I now have about the crack in the universe, silence will fall, the Pandorica opening adds a lot of value to the episode overall. The Doctor’s energy flows out of the screen and the viewer can’t help but smile the entire time. The ending is fantastic with a montage of all the past incarnations of the Doctor, all protecting Earth. And that, fellow Whovians, is what this show is all about.

Rewatching Doctor Who

The past few months, I participated in The Doctor Who Project with my friends Allison and Justin. In anticipation of the next season, I’ve been rewatching episodes. Tonight I decided to rewatch one of my favorite two parters featuring David Tennant as the 10th Doctor: Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead.

Book Review: WRAPPED IN WHITE

WRAPPED IN WHITE: Thirteen Tales of Spectres, Ghost, and Spirits

After reading Wrapped in Red, a vampire anthology released by Sekhmet Press, I was very excited to hear about Wrapped in White: Thirteen Tales of Spectres, Ghosts, and Spirits. As a lover of ghost stories, this was a wonderful collection. The perfect kind of tales to read around a campfire. I was very pleased to see two of my favorite authors (Allison M. Dickson, author of STRINGS, and Patrick C. Greene, author of PROGENY) had contributed to the anthology. I also discovered some authors I was unfamiliar with who had some amazing stories in the anthology.

Here’s the breakdown, in TOC order.

Daddy’s Glasses by Allison M. Dickson

This is Dickson at her best. Great imagery, amazing character development, and her remarkable skill at grabbing the reader and never letting go. There’s a reason she’s one of my favorite authors, and this story is the perfect example of her talent.

The Doctor Who Project-Series 6

This week my friends and I rank and review series six of Doctor Who! Check out our past reviews and top tens on our cool compendium page.

This week had some pretty stellar episodes, including one of my favorites The Doctor’s Wife, written by the amazing Neil Gaiman. This also had one of Allison’s least favorite episodes EVER, and Justin continues to make me laugh with some of his reviews. You can read all our reviews on Allison’s website.

The Doctor’s Wife

Be sure and stop by next week when we finish up with series seven! This also includes the 50th Anniversary Special and Matt Smith’s regeneration. You don’t want to miss it.

Until next week, fellow Whovians.

Books, Babes, and the Business

Celebrating Women in Fiction

My wonderful friend and colleague, Jennifer L. Greene from Sekhmet Press, has put together an incredible event for the month of February. Books, Babes, and the Business brings together talented women from all areas of the literature world. Over the next month you will meet writers, readers, editors, publishers, and artists. I am honored to be a guest on the 20th!

The event kicked off yesterday with a guest blog from Allison M. Dickson, author of a plethora of short stories, the pulpy Colt Coltrane and the Lotus Killer, and her new horror novel STRINGS. You can read her post, Write Like a Girl, here.

Literary babes

From Sekhmet Press:

“We will be celebrating women in fiction the entire month of February.

We will host a guest blogger each day, then on February 28th from 1-3pm EST you can join us on Facebook for a big pary! We’ll have virtual refreshments, hilarious games, and REAL PRIZES! Don’t miss it! Invite your friends!”

Read the full line up HERE!

Book Review: Colt Coltrane and the Lotus Killer

Colt Coltrane and the Lotus Killer

by Allison M. Dickson

Synopsis:

Artwork by Justin Wasson

“This city gets to a man. Maybe it’s all the busted dreams and the way they seep into the pavement like acid rain, bleaching the color out of things…”

It’s 1947, the streets are filthy with grease and empty promises, and private detective Colt Coltrane trolls the city for cheaters and deadbeats with his robotic sidekick Petey. It’s all business as usual until a mysterious Japanese woman walks into his office asking him to look into a string of grisly murders along the L.A. River, where the only trace the killer leaves behind, other than a mutilated female victim, is a single white lotus flower.

But there is far more to this dame than meets the eye, and Colt’s quest to find the Lotus Killer soon leads him to shocking and terrifying secrets lurking beneath Los Angeles.

A pulpy mix of the past, present, and future, COLT COLTRANE AND THE LOTUS KILLER is a non-stop thrill that won’t soon be forgotten.

My review:

Allison M. Dickson is full of surprises. For someone who writes primarily in the horror and speculative fiction genres, Colt Coltrane offers the reader another side of Allison’s talent. Set in LA in the late ‘40s, the story follows private detective Colt Coltrane and his robot sidekick, Petey. Yes, a robot in LA in the ‘40s. Immediately, the reader knows this isn’t your everyday police procedural. Colt and Petey are tracking the Lotus Killer through the city and through the sewers. The story is a little scifi, a little mystery, a little bit horror, and a helluva ride.

What I particularly loved about this story was Colt’s background and the way it is revealed to the reader. Allison could have been upfront at the beginning and told you exactly how and why Colt was no longer with the LAPD and exactly what happened to his partner and his wife. But she didn’t. She draws it out, piece by agonizing piece, and this not only adds suspense to the story but helps the reader embrace exactly who Colt is. And who would think you could come to love a bag of bolts like Petey?

With an array of colorful characters, perfect timing, and spectacular character development, Allison M. Dickson draws you in to the world of Colt and Petey. A dark, slimy underbelly of a world.

Colt Coltrane and the Lotus Killer is now available in print and eBook editions on Amazon!

The Doctor Who Project: COMING SOON

Rating Doctor Who

Now this is a fun project I am participating in. Doctor Who has brought much joy to my life the past few years and with the coming of the 12th Doctor, my friends and I have decided a definitive ranking is in order. So I am teaming up with fellow Whovians Allison M. Dickson and Justin Wasson for a BIG project. You can read all about it HERE.

I want to thank my Dad for bringing the Doctor into my life. Be sure and check back here on January 31st to see our top ten favorites. Then week to week we will be rating each episode. Hope you will join us!

Allons-y!

From Allison M. Dickson:

Now, three people trying to rate a show can get a little challenging. You have probably seen those giant lists around the internet, where people rank all 100+ episodes from worst to best. Instead of that, we thought we’d take a different approach and go season by season, give our own personal ranking on each episode on a scale of 1-10 “Sonics.” There will be one season ranked per week, giving people plenty of time for reading and discussion.

We figure that with a discussion format, you would be able to enjoy some similarities and contrasts in our tastes (for instance, I believe one of the episodes on Justin’s Top 10 will be one of my least favorites). We also hope it will make those of you out there who love the show as much as we do speak up and give us your take.