REVIEW: A LOOK INTO THE MIRROR DARKLY by THE GRATISTA VAMPIRE CLAN

I was patiently waiting for the next collection of works from this group, and once more, I'm happy to say I was NOT disappointed. The themes in this anthology might be considered 'touchy' by the more stiffer and mundane-minded, but once you read this, you'll see that it's not what you think.
"Pain" is received on many different levels and can be taken in so many ways. Sometimes, one's pain is another's pleasure. There's a wonderful medley of stories here, some hilarious, some quite sad, and some even mildly erotic. I was quite intrigued with Mr. Mullen's "The Gomorra Incident", as well as Mr. Glascow's "Vinaigrettes of Pain" in which he offers excerpts from stories he's written--which I hope one day to actually read in their entirety! "Contemplating The End" by Spider was a hoot--the ending will throw you for a loop! And my jaw dropped when I read "Hotline", again by Mr. Glascow. (What a twist on the whole 'suicide helpline' thing!!!) Ms. Poff's "Vampires Hurricane Ball" was a spicy treat. Camille, Dominic, Spider, and Phylis give their haunting offerings of poetry, and once again, Ms. Santiago wows the reader with her gothic photography, and I am very much in love with the cover as well. another image that really caught my eye within the book was of a large stone staircase and what looked like the ruins of a piece of a 19th century mansion or something! And although Mr. Boye's story, "Bastion's Pride" was a more conventional piece this time around, it was still dark enough to fit into the category of 'pain of loss' VERY well.
I give this group another round of applause. GETS A 5.

You can find it HERE in print or e-book!

BOOK REVIEW: EMBER, by Bettie Sharpe

A fairy tale like no other! I was wowed at this dark, Cinderella-ish tale, where prince Charming doesn't quite live up to his name, and our heroine, Ember, isn't exactly a raving beauty either--but a witch instead. Her stepsisters aren't cruel, but kind and caring courteseans!-- having moved in shortly after Ember's mother dies, and her father takes the eldest for his wife, bringing two 'sisters' with her.

Gaetane, a witch, bestows the prince with a blessing and a curse, to be perfect in everyone's eyes, every woman desiring him, and every man respecting him. There wold be nothing in the world that wouldn't be done for him. This ''blessing'' over time causes the Prince to long for real truth, love and honesty. Ember is the only one who fights the curse, and it is Ember that the Prince now yearns for--the one who could possibly love him for who he truly is. The big question is, will she give him what he craves?

This short story is so vivid, I felt like I was right there! I enjoyed the use of 13th century verbiage sprinkled throughout the story, and I liked the characters, especially Ember and her talent for using fire. The story takes you back to days of old, when enchantments and magic were very real. A very enjoyable story, you can still read it online at her website, or grab a print version of it (and I LOVED the cover!) at http://www.lulu.com/content/1727481. Definitely kick-ass & gets a 5!

GOD, ROB! NOOOOO!

*SIGH* and I've recently found out that Rob Zombie will continue the Halloween franchise by doing Halloween 2, due for a summer release. ARGH!!!!! And I've also found out that Billy Bob will not be playing Freddie Kreuger, but a "Watchmen" movie actor instead. My head hurts.

Can't WAIT to get my hands on THIS book

Okay, so I'm lurking around (Ahem...following) Ms. Santiago and her kick-ass ABRAXAS series. I am totally hooked. One thing I like is that she offers free chapter downloads for the more impatient folks, like myself, lol. and I happened to discover she has a 'Halloween' book coming out that will revolve around the Abraxas 'clansters', mainly Jonathan, who's severely piqued my interest from the chapter download I got. All I can say is, he's a WEIRD kid, lol!! I LOVE the in-your-face style she has, and how fast paced and exciting things go. The download alone was a severe TEASER!!! And the book trailer was so cool!

However, I'm still trying to wait patiently for book 4 in her ABRAXAS series, "Seeing Green", and hopefully some of the mysteries in this series will be unraveled a bit more in this volume.

You HAVE to check her stuff out at http://bloodtouch.webs.com/abraxas.htm You WON'T be disappointed if you love the dark, gothy stuff.....