News

Author Spotlight: Roma Gray’s Gray Shadows Under a Harvest Moon

Published

9 years ago

September 2, 2015

One of the most difficult tasks for a new author is introducing their work to the reader. For most, it’s a spin of the roulette wheel. The book is published and you work with your publicist and publisher to run the best campaign possible to get people to crack open the covers or download onto their devices to read. Generally, today, this means social marketing campaigns, interviews on various websites, and some even get video ads placed on YouTube. There are authors out there who come up with much more creative ways of getting the word out, and Roma Gray is one of those authors.

In her anthology, Gray Shadows Under a Harvest Moon: Six Trick or Treat Thrillers, Ms. Gray has done something I have never seen before. Quite simply, she gives you six short stories that introduce her ideas for brand new novels that will be headed to retailers near you, and then she takes it one step further. In the second half of the anthology, Ms. Gray gives information about what will be coming in these novels by “interviewing” one or two of the characters from each story. It’s a genius idea because you can introduce your brand of fiction to the public and generate interest for more.

So, what is Ms. Gray’s brand of fiction and who is her target audience? As I finished up reading her book, I asked her that question, myself. She responded, “My target audience is adult and young adult. The idea being that most of the Halloween-style books out there are aimed at children, but teens and adults like Halloween as well (it doesn’t have to be just for kids.) On the other end of the spectrum, many of us don’t like the hard core horror books, either. It’s seems to me that there is a huge gap between those two extremes and I’m trying to fill that gap.”

After reading her book, I can tell you that she hit her mark. Her stories boast original ideas that are light-hearted while still boasting a host of standard horror creatures: zombies, vampires, dark magic practitioners, and even sasquatch. That’s right, guys, Bigfoot makes an appearance in a tale called “The Invisible Carrier” concerning an epidemic in the Pacific Northwest and the sasquatch is the outbreak monkey, carrying the disease from one small town to the next.

I have to be honest here. Ms. Gray’s brand of fiction does not suit me. The tone of the stories and the characters seem like fodder for a slew of movies on the Syfy network. There is a time and a place and even a network for this type of story, but it just isn’t my cup of tea. I do like the darker tales and I like my monsters a bit more monstrous. One story that did stick out for me, however. In “Summer Vacation”, we are introduced to a young man named Sean who is spending the summer with his grandmother. He is a bit of a recluse and has developed, at first as a joke to drive his mother crazy, an interest in dark magic. When Sean begins to realize that his spells are actually working and that from across the country he has somehow set fire to his bed at home and made the water in his parent’s home run red as blood, he begins to get nervous. Once again, the tone of the story is not my taste, but it would be one that I would sit down and read to find out what happens in the end.

I applaud Ms. Gray’s presenting a truly polished work. It is difficult to find digitally published work that is edited this well, even among established authors like King and Rice. It is something that just isn’t given as much time as it should be anymore.

So, to pull this all together, if you’re the kind of horror reader who enjoys your entertainment a bit on the lighter side, this is the book for you and I would urge you to get a copy of Ms. Gray’s anthology today. You can follow the link here to Amazon and score it for only $2.99!

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

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Movies

Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed

Published

5 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.

Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.

The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.

Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”

Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

News

Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween

Published

7 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.

The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.

“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.

Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.

The prize also includes:

An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings

A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear

A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room

A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course

The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II

Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two

“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”

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Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

Movies

’28 Years Later’ Trilogy Taking Shape With Serious Star Power

Published

9 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Danny Boyle is revisiting his 28 Days Later universe with three new films. He will direct the first, 28 Years Later, with two more to follow. Deadline is reporting that sources say Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes have been cast for the first entry, a sequel to the original. Details are being kept under wraps so we don’t know how or if the first original sequel 28 Weeks Later fits into the project.

**Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes**

Boyle will direct the first movie but it’s unclear which role he will take on in the subsequent films. What is known is Candyman (2021) director Nia DaCosta is scheduled to direct the second film in this trilogy and that the third will be filmed immediately afterward. Whether DaCosta will direct both is still unclear.

Alex Garland is writing the scripts. Garland is having a successful time at the box office right now. He wrote and directed the current action/thriller Civil War which was just knocked out of the theatrical top spot by Radio Silence’s Abigail.

There is no word yet on when, or where, 28 Years Later will start production.