Wrapping Up the WordCrafter “Curses” Book Blog Tour
Posted: October 3, 2025 Filed under: Anthology, Author Interview, Blog Tour, Book Release, Books, Dark fiction, Fiction, Giveaways, Guest Post, Horror, Short Fiction, Stories, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter Press | Tags: Abe MArgel, C.R. Johansson, Curses, Curses: Chronicles of Darkness, Danaeka Scrimshaw, Dark fiction, Denise Aparo, horror, Joseph Carrabis, Kaye Lynne Booth, Molly Ertel, Paul Kane, Robert White, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter Press 8 Comments
Today we’re wrapping up the WordCrafter Curses Book Blog Tour. I want to thank each of you who have joined us by following the tour and commenting to enter the giveaway, to help us send-off this themed dark fiction anthology, Curses: Chronicles of Darkness. We’ve had a great time meeting the contributing authors and learning about their stories. I hope you’ve learned enough about the stories in this collection to entice you to buy the anthology, and maybe found a new favorite author or two along the way. If you missed a stop, you can go back and check them all out through the links in the schedule at the bottom of this post.
Today we bring you a brief guest post by Danaeka Scrimshaw and a video post about their story inspirations her on Writing to be Read. Then over at Undawnted, DL Mullan will bring use her interview with Danaeka, as well. Don’t forget to leave your comments and questions for both stops on the first blog stop. We still have one more digital copy of Curses to giveaway.
Giveaway
We’re giving away 5 digital copies of Curses: Chronicles of Darkness.
All you have to do to enter is
follow the tour and leave a comment.
About Curses: Chronicles of Darkness
There are all types of curses.
Cursed places, cursed items, cursed people, cursed families.
Curses that last throughout time. Curses which can’t be broken. Curses which are brought upon ourselves. Curses that will kill you and those that will only make you wish you were dead.
Eleven tantalizing tales of curses and the cursed. Includes stories by Kaye Lynne Booth, Molly Ertel, C.R. Johansson, Robert White, Joseph Carrabis, Paul Kane, Danaeka Scrimshaw, Abe Margel, and Denise Aparo.
Pre-Order and Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/CursesChroniclesofDarkness
Meet Author Molly Ertel
Molly Ertel’s short stories have appeared in Akashic Books, Jerry Jazz Magazine, the Midnight Garden anthology and the Dark City Crime and Mystery Magazine among other publications. Additionally, she worked as a reader/editor for the Silver Blade Anthology. Her character-driven stories came out of her days as a photojournalist at the Airway Heights Corrections Center where she interviewed and wrote about the lives of inmates and the work of correctional officers.
Current projects include editing her second historical fiction novel for middle grade (8-12 year olds) that takes place during the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 and possibly delving into the world of creative non-fiction for children. Animal Olympics anyone?
Molly’s story, ” Clover’s Mirror Box”, is about a woman cursed with bad luck and her quest to break her curse. How do you break a curse? Well…, Clover uses a mirror box to break her curse. If you want to know how, you’ll have to read the story.
Inspiration Video for “Clover’s Mirror Box”
Meet Author Danaeka Scrimshaw
Danaeka Scrimshaw is a speculative fiction author writing novel length and short form for the past seven years. Between short stories, they’re working on the first book of a new trilogy called Ghedia of Duisternis.
Danaeka’s story, “The Lamp”, is about a cursed object; a lamp handed down through generations with a curse locked within.
Inspiration for “The Lamp”
My story, The Lamp, came to me subtly last October when my writing group wanted to do Halloween stories. It started with the memory of my great grandma’s old wicker lamp when I was seven. This one was ordinary, and we got to light it sometimes and watch the orange flames flicker as we blew across the open top, casting shadows on the walls.
While I was still going through my divorce, I had lost the muse and didn’t finish in time, stopping when Sebastien discovered the lamp was open. About a month after I started living alone, I felt invisible, just as this anthology opportunity came up. I had felt invisible throughout my childhood as well. This idea of being the forgotten child made its way into the story.
You can learn more about Danaeka and her story, by visiting the second stop on today’s tour, over at Undawnted, where you can catch Danaeka’s interview with DL Mullan.
Don’t forget to leave your comments and questions for both tour stops here for a chance to win the final copy of Curses: Chronicles of Darkness.
Tour Schedule
Day 1
- Stop 1 – Writing to be Read – About the Curses Anthology & Meet Kaye Lynne Booth and Denise Aparo
- Stop 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan Interviews Denise Aparo
Day 2
- Stop 1 – Robbie’s Inspiration – Meet Kaye Lynne Booth & Joseph Carrabis with readings of “It’s a Man’s World” & “Grafton’s Ghost-Child”
- Stop 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan Interviews Joseph Carrabis
Day 3
- Stop 1 – Poetry by Mich – Meet Abe Margel & Paul Kane with a guest post about the inspiration of his story “The Weeping Man”
- Stop 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan Interviews Paul Kane
Day 4
- Stop 1 – Roberta Writes – Meet C.R Johansson & Robert White with a guest post about the inspiration for “The Longspeth Curse”
- Stop 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan interviews Robert White
Day 5
- Stop 1 – Writing to be Read – Meet Danaeka Scrimshaw, and Molly Ertel & Inspiration Video about “Clover’s Mirror Box”
- Stop 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan interviews Danaeka Scrimshaw
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“Curses” & Paul Kane on Joseph Carrabis
Posted: October 2, 2025 Filed under: Anthology, Blog Tour, Book Promotion, Book Release, Books, Dark fiction, Fiction, Horror, Paranormal, Short Fiction, Stories | Tags: "The Weeping Man, Anthology, Curses: Chronicles of Darkness, Dark fiction, Joseph Carrabis, Paul Kane, WordCrafter Press 3 Comments
Meet the contributing authors and learn about their stories in Curses: Chronicles of Darkness.
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Day 4 of the WordCrafter “Curses” Book Blog Tour
Posted: October 2, 2025 Filed under: Anthology, Author Interview, Blog Tour, Book Promotion, Book Release, Book Sales, Dark fiction, Fiction, Giveaways, Guest Post, Horror, Paranormal, Short Fiction, Stories, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter Press | Tags: "Roadkill", "The Longspeth Curse", Anthology, C.R. Johansson, Curses: Chronicles of Darkness, Dark fiction, Robert White, Roberta Writes, Short Stories, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter Press Leave a commentFor the first stop on Day 4 of the WordCrafter Curses Book Blog Tour, we’re over at Roberta Writes, where Robbie Cheadle introduces contributing authors C.R. Johansson and Robert White, with a guest post about the inspiration for his story “The Longspeth Curse”. Please join us in sending off Curses: Chronicles of Darkness, from WordCrafter Press. Don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a free digital copy of the anthology, and then drop by our second stop to catch DL Mullan’s interview with Robert White over at Undawnted.
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Day 3 of the WordCrafter “Curses” Book Blog Tour
Posted: October 1, 2025 Filed under: Anthology, Blog Tour, Book Release, Books, Dark fiction, Fiction, Giveaways, Guest Post, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours | Tags: "The Weeping Man", "Uneasy Spirit", Abe MArgel, Curses: Chronicles of Darkness, Masticadores Phillipines, Michelle Navajas, Paul Kane, WordCrafter Press Leave a commentFor first stop on Day 3 of the WordCrafter Curses Book Blog Tour, we’re over at Masticadores Phillipines, with Michelle Ayon Navajas introducing contributing authors Abe Margel and Paul Kane, and a guest post by Paul Kane on the inspiration for his story, “The Weeping Man”. Please join us in sending off this deliciously dark fiction anthology, Curses: Chronicles of Darkness. Don’t forget to comment for a chance at a free digital copy of the anthology and visit Stop 2 over at Undawnted.
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Lindsey’s WRITING PRACTICE- Review: “Jigsaw Puzzling: Essays in a Time of Pestilence” by Denise Low
Posted: October 1, 2025 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Lindsey's Writing Practice, Nonfiction, Review | Tags: Book Reveiw, Denise Low, Jigsaw Puzzling, Lindsey Martin-Bowen, Lindsey's Writing Practice, Nonfiction, Problem Solving, Writing to be Read 4 Comments
By Lindsey Martin-Bowen
“I never underestimate the power of a single puzzle piece. It fits within a whole, like each moment of my unfolding life story.”
—Denise Low
Hey, Dear Readers, this month you’ve earned a break: No writing exercise. Instead, I’m posting an engaging book review by a well-known poet, professor, fiction and prose writer, and former Kansas Poet Laureate, Denise Low. Jigsaw Puzzling: Essays in a Time of Pestilence amazed me—and I had to share the experience with others. Please enjoy it!
Who’da thunk it? Such an accomplished, widely-published poet, fiction and scholarly writer, and esteemed university professor she is—yet she’s writing about and documenting info about jigsaw puzzles?
Yes!
This brilliant scholar, Denise Low, penned an insightful, in-depth, engaging and well-researched book that could suffice as a manual or textbook for the jig-sawing craft. Trapped indoors—sans travel and during the COVID-19 pandemic, she and her husband, visual artist, Thomas Pecore Weso, found fulfillment and experienced marvelous teamwork in assembling jigsaw puzzles, including those that emulate high art. (In fact, Chapter 4 , “The Great Masters in (Jigsaw) Pieces,” Lowe lists some of the painting reproductions transformed into jig-saw puzzles, among them, Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, Claude Monet’s Waterlilies, and Thomas Gainsborough’s The Blue Boy.)
Like me, Low views paintings as “more intimate than photographs.” She continues to explore this viewpoint by adding, “If [Van Gogh’s] Arles bedroom scene had been a photograph, historical documentation would give the image an aura of authenticity. The painted representation of the bedroom also has some value as documentation— what was a nineteenth century peasant room like, anyway?—and it also records his mode of painterly creation. The artist’s vivid palette and energetic, rough brushstrokes are unique to him. The puzzling apotheosis of Van Gogh, a person transformed into an artist god, overrode my experience of the original painting. (30)
Low also intertwines words from Margaret Drabble, who pointed out the integration of high art into jigsaw puzzles to Springbok Editions’ 1964 publication of Jackson Pollack’s Convergence, renowned as “the most difficult jigsaw puzzle in the world,” by a British Broadcasting Company radio show, hosted by Alan Dein. Drabble is also a jigsaw and Van Gogh admirer, Low points out, and quotes Drabble’s words about the two topics: From jigsaws, you learn about the brushstrokes of Van Gogh, the clouds of Constable, the reflections and shadows of Manet, the stripes of Tissot and Rousseau, the brickwork and tiles of the Dutch masters, the flesh tones of Titian, the undulating fabrics and limbs of Botticelli, the business of Botsch and Breughel. (31) (From Drabble’s The Pattern in the Carpet: A Personal History with Jigsaws. Boston:Houghton Mifflin, p. 250, (2009 ).
Nevertheless, Low does not limit her analysis (and resolutions) of jigsaws to historical (primarily European) paintings. She also analyzes a work by a master Indigenous artist, whose works (in jigsaw puzzles) she admits were “not as easy” to find. Fortunately, her husband, (a member of the Menominee Nation family) found (on the internet) the Lakota leader Red Cloud, (his family’s distant relative), in a jigsaw of the original painting of Red Cloud standing with a calvary officer in front of four teepees, for a reconciliation—rather than for a war.
Both Low and her husband relate strongly to Native American art. In fact, she equates the process of piecing together a “large, table-size picture piece-by-piece “as tantamount to “creating a sand painting” (33), a process wherein Native American tribes and Tibetan Monks create art by mixing various hues with the sand.
Further, Low doesn’t focus solely on painted artwork. She also analyzes engravings and illustrations, such as one of a cabinet of curiosities from Ferrante Imperato’s Deli’Historia Naturale (Naples 1599), poetry shards, mosaics, and various other topics for jigsaw puzzles—and offers histories for these varieties of subjects in jigsaws.
In the final chapters, she wraps up how the jigsawing during that frightening pandemic affected her priorities, psyche, and health. An unexpected result of immersion into Jigsaw Landria has been how colors burn into my retinas and become part of my inner life. In waking dreams, sections from Water Lilies would dance before my eyes, colors of blue-topaz, cotton-candy pink, and fern green. Other puzzles have had the had the same effect, with after images of colors entering inner sight, dreams, and early morning awakening. These colors interacted with what, a spirit body? An etheric double? An aura?
From those questions, Low analyzes the various theories on color and concludes that Color is one of our first considerations when we select a puzzle. . . we want something bright or soothing or compelling. A puzzle made of too many colors is chaotic and upsetting . . . . As COVID-19 lasts far beyond the year 2020, we look for more from Monet’s palette, the muted tones of a seascape as sunlight filters through mist, we are grateful for this respite from the grim chaos beyond our control. (93)
Indeed, Low’s brilliant insight applies to our current Zeitgeist in the U.S., too.
After teaching many years as a tenured writing and literature Professor at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas, Low now teaches at Baker University. With more than 30 poetry books published, she continues to work in her free-lance writing career.
About Lindsey Martin-Bowen
On Halloween 2023, redbat books released Lindsey Martin-Bowen’s 7th poetry collection, CASHING CHECKS with Jim Morrison. Her 4 th collection, Where Water Meets the Rock, was nominated for a Pulitzer; her 3rd, CROSSING KANSAS with Jim Morrison was a finalist in the QuillsEdge Press 2015-2016 Contest. In 2017, it won the Kansas Writers Assn award, “Looks Like a Million.” Writer’s Digest gave her “Vegetable Linguistics” an Honorable Mention in its 85th Annual (2017) Contest. Her Inside Virgil’s Garage (Chatter House Press 2013) was a runner-up in the 2015 Nelson Poetry Book Award. McClatchy Newspapers named her Standing on the Edge of the World (Woodley Press/Washburn University) was one of the Ten Top Poetry Books of 2008. It was nominated for a Pen Award.
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Welcome to the WordCrafter “Curses” Book Blog Tour!
Posted: September 29, 2025 Filed under: Anthology, Blog Tour, Book Release, Books, Dark fiction, Guest Post, Horror, Paranormal, Short Fiction, Stories, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter Press | Tags: "The Death Clock, "The Mohawk Monster: The Curse of the Herkimer Diamond, Anthology, Curses, Curses: Chronicles of Darkness, Dark fiction, Denise Aparo, Kaye Lynne Booth, WordCrafter Press 2 CommentsWelcome to the opening day of the WordCrafter Curses Book Blog Tour. I want to thank each of you for joining us in the send-off for this themed dark fiction anthology, Curses: Chronicles of Darkness. All contributors have worked hard on this to bring you eleven quality stories about… well… curses.
We have a great tour planned, featuring guest posts, readings and/or interviews from six of our contributing authors. On this tour, you will have the opportunity to meet and learn more about Denise Aparo, Joseph Carrabis, Paul Kane, Robert White, Danaeka Scrimshaw, and Molly Ertel and their stories. And, of course, we’ll have a giveaway for 5 digital copies of the anthology, one for each day of the tour. You can follow the tour through the links at the bottom of this post.
Giveaway
We’re giving away 5 digital copies of Curses: Chronicles of Darkness.
All you have to do to enter is
follow the tour and leave a comment each day.
The Authors of Curses: Chronicles of Darkness
WordCrafter Short
Curses: Chronicles of Darkness releases tomorrow, September 30, but it is available for pre-order now. We have a great group of authors, including myself, who contributed to this anthology. I’m pleased to be able to bring them to you via this blog tour. Like live tours, blog tours bring readers closer to authors, and we will be introducing you to at least one or two authors each day on this double-stop tour.
Each day will feature one stop along the blog tour route where you will be introduced to at least one of our contributing authors and we’ll share a little about each story, then a second stop over at the Undawnted blog, where DL Mullan will interview one of the authors featured that day. Undawnted does not support comments, but you can leave them on the other host sites, or here, on Writing to be Read. And you’ll want to be sure and do that, because your comments are what enters you in the giveaway, and we will be drawing one winner per day. (Authors may also be available to respond to those comments to create a more personal experience.)
About Curses: Chronicles of Darkness
There are all types of curses.
Cursed places, cursed items, cursed people, cursed families.
Curses that last throughout time. Curses which can’t be broken. Curses which are brought upon ourselves. Curses that will kill you and those that will only make you wish you were dead.
Eleven tantalizing tales of curses and the cursed. Includes stories by Kaye Lynne Booth, Molly Ertel, C.R. Johansson, Robert White, Joseph Carrabis, Paul Kane, Danaeka Scrimshaw, Abe Margel, and Denise Aparo.
Pre-Order and Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/CursesChroniclesofDarkness
Meet Kaye Lynne Booth (That’s Me!)
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and book 1 in her Time-Travel Adventure series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw, as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders and The D.I.Y. Author writing resource.
Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press, where she edits and publishes two short fiction anthologies and one poetry anthology every year amidst her many writing projects. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.
About “The Death Clock”
My story, “The Death Clock“, is about a curse placed on an Ormulu clock in the sixteenth century, placed on it by its maker. I got the inspiration for this story, after the call for submissions for Curses went out, from an episode of Pawn Stars, where Rick explains why they call these clocks death clocks. After watching this, I thought Boy, if anything would be cursed, one of those clocks would be.
Ormulu clocks are gilded gold clocks which were commissioned with the most skilled clockmakers by members of the aristocracy as symbols of prestige. (In my story, the clock was commissioned by Napolean, himself.) During the gilding process, the gold is gilded to the bronze clock housing, by covering the housing with mercury and then, pressing the gold into it by hand. Then, the piece was fired to burn the mercury off, leaving the gilded gold. Many of these clock makers then suffered from insanity or death as a result of their labors. Hence the name “Death Clock”.
“The Death Clock” takes place in present day and is about one woman’s efforts to break the curse when she accidentally inherits an Ormulu clock with the house she and her husband just purchased.
Meet Denise Aparo
Denise Aparo is an author with four published short stories in the horror/supernatural genre in the WordCrafter Midnight Anthologies. All of her stories are written under Denise Aparo and are edited by Kaye Lynne Booth, through WordCrafter Press.
As a native New Englander, she lives with her husband Joe, spending much of her time writing, reading, gardening, making crocheted blankets, and crafting with her grandchildren. She loves the paranormal historical fiction genre and has recently completed edits on her first novel, a historical fiction titled Crossbows, which will be self-published in the near future.
She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English – Fine Arts/Creative Writing with concentration in Fiction from Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). And a member of five honor societies with leadership recognition.
She is published in several newspapers and magazines—special interest articles, along with poems and short stories that have been published in print and digital format. She is a member of the Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association (CAPA) and the author of a WordPress writing blog, The Write Voice.
Denise has three short stories in the horror/supernatural genre in the Midnight Series, through WordPress. These short stories are published under Denise Aparo and the third and last of the Midnight Series will be released on September 30, 2025.
You can learn more about Denise and her story, by visiting the second stop on today’s tour, over at Undawnted, in Denise’s interview with DL Mullan. Remember to leave your comments or questions here for both of today’s stops.
Denise Aparo’s story in Curses is “The Mohawk Montser: The Curse of the Herkimer Diamond”. A tale of an ancient Indian curse which stands over a diamond mine in New York and the surrounding land, including the diamonds in the mine.
Inspiration for “The Mohawk Monster: The Curse of the Herkimer Diamond”
The Curses: Chronicles of Darkness story prompt was a curse(s). My short story, “The Mohawk Monster: The Curse of the Herkimer Diamond,” is a brief prequel to my recently completed novel, Crossbows, which I plan to publish soon. My novel actually began with an untold curse by a New England, Native American Goddess.
I thought it would be a great way to tell the story about her curse on a New York Community, Herkimer County, which is near the New England setting in my novel. The Goddess Komorkis was deeply saddened by the murders of the band of warriors she kept watch over. The sacred warriors, The Shadow Wolves, protected an ancient Tome, The Tome of Life with a sigil. The tome and the Sigillum Dei Sigil, has miraculous power over all creatures. This short story takes place at the Herkimer Diamond Mine in New York.
The why the story came about was because of my childhood memories of my dad. My father was a rock collector, who traveled to many mines and quarries, collecting rare and semiprecious rocks and stones. One of his favorite places to hunt was at the Herkimer Diamond Mine. He had collected many Herkimer Diamonds throughout his life.
Because I write historical fiction about New England, I am always researching unusual places, people, and things. The Mohawk Valley Mineral Mining is a unique Herkimer Diamond mining location set in a dense forest within the remote farm town of Sprakers, NY. I remembered how the place has many rare and unusual crystals. One of the largest known crystals is the Herkimer Diamond, called The Mohawk Monster. It was labeled this due to its large size and found in that mine, which is located in the Mohawk Valley.
Since the name of the diamond has the word “monster” in it, it prompted me to write a story about it for the Curses Anthology!
You can learn more about Denise and her story, by visiting the second stop on today’s tour, over at Undawnted, where you can catch Denise’s interview with DL Mullan.
Don’t forget to leave your comments and questions for both tour stops here for a chance to win in today’s giveaway drawing for a copy of Curses: Chronicles of Darkness.
Tour Schedule
Day 1
- Stop 1 – Writing to be Read – About the Curses Anthology & Meet Denise Aparo
- Stop 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan Interviews Denise Aparo
Day 2
- Stop 1 – Robbie’s Inspiration – Kaye Lynne Booth & Joseph Carrabis with Readings of “It’s a Man’s World” & “Grafton’s Ghost-Child”
- Stop 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan Interviews Joseph Carrabis
Day 3
- Stop 1 – Poetry by Mich – Meet Abe Margel & Paul Kane with a guest post about the inspiration of his story “The Weeping Man”
- Stop 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan Interviews Paul Kane
Day 4
- Stop 1 – Roberta Writes – Meet C.R. Johansson & Robert White with a guest post about the inspiration for “The Longspeth Curse”
- Stop 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan interviews Robert White
Day 5
- Stop 1 – Writing to be Read – Meet Kaye Lynne Booth, Danaeka Scrimshaw & Molly Ertel with Inspiration Video about “Clover’s Mirror Box”
- Stop 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan interviews Danaeka Scrimshaw
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Book Review: “That the Dead May Rest” & “Knock Out”
Posted: September 26, 2025 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Crime, Dark fiction, Fiction, Mystery, Paranormal, Speculative Fiction, Thriller, Zombie Fiction | Tags: Book Review, Karen A. Wyle, Knock Out, Mia Gold, mystery, Paranormal, Speculative Fiction, That the Dead May Rest, Thriller, Writing to be Read, Zombies 4 Comments
About That the Dead May Rest
After a life of peril and fear, Millie has reached the peace, beauty, and security of the afterlife. But one day, when she is performing her glad duty of welcoming a new spirit, that spirit recoils from her in horror — because her body had become a zombie, and had brutally killed him.
As more spirits make the same terrible discovery, they ask themselves, and each other: is this somehow my fault? When will it end? And finally: what can we do? Is there something we can do to stop this?
And are there people among the living who can help them to do it?
Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/That-Dead-Rest-Karen-Wyle-ebook/dp/B0FLRK4VC1
My Review of That the Dead May Rest
I received a digital review copy of That the Dead May Rest, by Karen A. Wyle through Sandra’s Book Club review program. All opinions stated here are my own.
This multiple P.O.V. story has a lot of telling, rather than showing, and the number of characters made it difficult for me to relate with any of them, or even keep track of who is who. I had to stop reading and pull out of the story multiple times to go back and figure out which character’s head I’m in at the moment. This made it difficult to really care about what happens to them, as well. I think the only way this tale could be told is from multiple P.O.V.s, so the author had the right idea, but as a reader, I needed to be able to invest in at least one or two of the characters, and I didn’t get to know them well enough to be able to do that. I didn’t feel the character’s fear, or grief, or pain, but I knew they were feeling these things because the characters expressed how awful these feelings were for them.
I believe the cover was what drew me to this book. At first, I thought I had picked up a typical zombie story, but this book is definitely not that. Although, there are zombies, the characters, alive or dead, just talk about the zombie attacks rather than being attacked themselves. In fact, zombies only make appearances a few times. But we know they are there, because the characters tell us they are. That may have made it more difficult for me to take the gravity of the situation more seriously.
It actually isn’t a bad story line, but the author could have done so much more with it. The ghosts are quite disturbed when they discover their former bodies are rising from their graves and attacking people. The living are slow to make the connection between what’s happening and zombie activity, and at first write it off as ‘mysterious creature attacks’. If I could have felt the anger of living characters who lost loved ones to the attacks, or been able to feel the horror at learning the character’s former body had done such a hideous thing, I could have rooted for them and cheered as they came closer to reaching their goals had they behaved in a manner that communicated their feelings instead of just telling me about it.
The ghosts/spirits reach out to the living, and they join forces to find a solution. The afterlife should not be so stressful and something must be done. But, what is causing these vile creatures, and how do you stop a zombie epidemic? There are several ideas from the members of the group, both alive and dead. This is the tale of their quest to help the living to live and allow the dead to rest.
While the story line is original, the multiple points of view made it a bit confusing, and I had difficulty getting into the story and relating with the characters. I give That the Dead May Rest three quills.
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About Knock Out
In this action mystery thriller series by #1 bestseller Mia Gold (whose books have over 5,000 five-star ratings), Holly Hands, 29, single mom and former boxing pro turned Repo Woman, lives in the bad slice of Baltimore and dreams of getting the medical treatment her daughter desperately needs. But when she discovers a dead body in her trunk during a routine repo job, Holly has to tap into her fighting skills to solve the mystery. Hunt down the killer, and save her from a wrongful conviction that would take her away from her daughter…
Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Knockout-Holly-Hands-Cozy-Mystery-Book-ebook/dp/B08K9CYX9Q
My Review of Knock Out
I purchased Knock Out, by Mia Gold as a Bookbub bargain on a day when I felt like reading out of my norm as an impulse buy. All opinions stated here are my own.
A quick glance at the title led me to believe the book was about boxing. Boxing is one of my least favorite sports, so the boxing world always feels quite alien to me. I surprised myself when I purchased this book, and I’m glad that I did. Knock Out is book 1 in Mia Gold’s Holly Hands Mystery series.
I was pleasantly surprised when I started reading, to discover that Holly Hands is a single mother and ex-boxer, who has been suspended for taking a dive in the ring because her daughter needs a series of expensive operations. Our heroine did something wrong for all the right reasons, so we can empathize with her when she discovers it was all for nothing. The loan shark who agreed to pay for her to lose is nowhere to be found, her boxing career is down the toilet, and she still can’t pay for the procedures her daughter, Olivia desperately needs.
In her search for the lying loan shark, she turns to an acquaintance from school, who has pull in all the right circles, and he agrees to help her find him if she’ll come to work for him as a ‘ repo agent’, offering the suspended boxer another opportunity to get the money for the needed operations. On her first job repossessing a car, she gets pulled over and police find a body in the trunk, and they are looking at her as a murder suspect. She must find the real killer to clear her name, sending her on a mission looking for clues to what really happened to the murder victim.
I really liked Gold’s complex characters, like Holly Hands, the fighter, who was raised in a family of fighters and managed to hold her own against her two brothers, yet has a soft spot in her heart for big sad looking dogs and her eight-year-old daughter. At the same time, she’s a struggling single mother with an ill child, who will do whatever it takes to heal Olivia and give her a better life. As a repo agent, she walks a fine line between legal and illegal activity as she maneuvers her way through the local criminal elements, and in her spare time she searches for a killer, coming up against some dangerous people along the way. You can’t help but like her, and she’d a fun character that you want to root for. Holly strikes me as a female James Rockford, (James Garner’s character in The Rockford Files); always falling into unexpected situations and coming up with solutions by the skin of her teeth.
No spoilers, but to say that by the end of the book, the author had each subplot wrapped up nicely while wrapping up with a hint that finding the lying loan shark may be just around the corner in the second book in the series. And since I had been rooting for Holly throughout the entire book, I definitely wanted to see that main storyline through to the end. I may have to buy the second book, so this book does what every series writer hopes for: readers to want more.
A wonderful amateur detective mystery. I give Knock Out five quills.
About Kaye Lynne Booth
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and book 1 in her Time-Travel Adventure series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw, as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders and The D.I.Y. Author writing resource.
Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press, where she edits and publishes two short fiction anthologies and one poetry anthology every year amidst her many writing projects. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.
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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review on the Book Review tab above.
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Looking for Dependable Reviewers
Posted: September 25, 2025 Filed under: Anthology, Book Promotion, Book Review, Books, Dark Fantasy, Dark fiction, Fiction, Review, WordCrafter Press 10 Comments
Every anthology WordCrafter Press puts out, I send out between 30 and 50 review requests to various reviewers. While I’ve had some success with novel length works and poetry anthologies using this method, it doesn’t seem to be as effective. But, the first two volumes of the Midnight Anthology Series have no reviews on Amazon currently, and I just don’t get it. These are quality short fiction collections by talented authors, and I’ve given out plenty of review copies…, so why no reviews?
I’ve decided to try and build a WordCrafter Review Team, with the help of my readers. And the first step, is to find willing reviewers. I know many of you who visit here are reviewers yourselves, so I’m asking. If you would be willing to be put on the list of possible reviewers for WordCrafter short fiction anthologies, or poetry anthologies, or for fiction novels with single authors, I want to hear from you. Being on one or more lists doesn’t obligate you to review a book; it obligates me to offer you the opportunity and supply a review copy each time a new book on your list comes out through WordCrafter Press. You’ll receive a press release requesting a review, with a link to get a free digital copy if you choose to accept. Which books you chose to review are completely up to you.
I guess every author wishes for a review team which can be counted on to actually post reviews after receiving free copies of their books, but I’m guessing it doesn’t happen often, and when it does, it’s because the author has taken things into their own hands and followed up with each member of the team to assure they each have done their parts. Ideally, the review copies would be given out early enough so that reviewers could all post on the release date, skyrocketing the book up on the Amazon lists. But, I haven’t managed to get any books out quite that early as yet, and I don’t have the energy to be a slave driver of that caliper. I’ll have to settle for asking you to notify me when your review is posted and trust you to do so.
Most of you know that WordCrafter Press publishes wide, so reviews can be posted on Amazon, GoodReads, BookBub, one of the other distributors, or any combination thereof. If you post on a blog and send me a link, I’ll promote, reblog, and direct readers to view the review there.
With the third volume in the Midnight Anthology Series, Midnight Oil, getting ready to release, I thought I’d try something a little different. I’m specifically looking for reviewers willing to read and review the first two anthologies: Midnight Roost and Midnight Garden to get the series some traction, and I’m willing to provide free digital copies to those who are willing. If you post reviews for the first two books and notify me, I will automatically send you out the press release for Midnight Oil as soon as it’s available.
So, before you go on to the next blog to see what’s happening, please take a moment to drop a message in the comments section, or contact me at KLBWordCrafter@gmail.com, and let me know which types of books you’d be interested in reviewing. You’ll never be obligated to review any book you don’t want to, but I do ask that you leave a review somewhere and let me know about it once you have collected your free copy. Can I count on you?
About Kaye Lynne Booth
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and book 1 in her Time-Travel Adventure series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw, as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders and The D.I.Y. Author writing resource.
Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press, where she edits and publishes two short fiction anthologies and one poetry anthology every year amidst her many writing projects. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.
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This post is sponsored by the Midnight Anthology Series and WordCrafter Press.
Midnight Roost: Weird and Creepy Stories: 20 authors bring your nightmares to life in 23 stories of ghosts, paranormal phenomenon and the horror from the dark crevasses of their minds. Stories of stalkers, both human and supernatural, possession and occult rituals, alien visitations of the strange kind, and ghostly tales that will give you goosebumps. These are the tales that will make you fear the dark. Read them at the Midnight Roost… if you dare. https://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Roost-Kaye-Lynne-Booth-ebook/dp/B0CL6FPLVJ
Midnight Garden: Where Dark Tales Grow: 17 authors bring you 21 magnificent dark tales. Stories of magic, monsters and mayhem. Tales of murder and madness which will make your skin crawl. These are the tales that explore your darkest fears. Read them in the Midnight Garden… if you dare. https://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Garden-Where-Tales-Anthology-ebook/dp/B0DJNDQJD3
Midnight Oil: Stories to Fuel Your Nightmares: 14 authors bring you 16 dark tales that explore your deepest fears. These are the stories which nightmares are made of. Tales of monsters, mayhem, and madness which will make you shiver in the dark. Read them while you burn the Midnight Oil… if you dare. Coming October 29, 2005
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WordCrafter News: Happy Halloween! Spooky October Releases & a Halloween Book Event.
Posted: September 22, 2025 Filed under: Anthology, Book Release, Books, Dark fiction, Fiction, Ghost Stories, Horror, Paranormal, romance, Short Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Stories, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter News, WordCrafter Press | Tags: B.T. Clearwater, Curses: Chronicles of Darkness, Dark fiction, Midnight Anthology Series, Midnight Oil, New release, paranormal horror, Paranormal Romance, Smothered, WordCrafter News, WordCrafter Press 4 Comments
I’m posting this month’s “WordCrafter News” early because the first of three spooky WordCrafter Press releases come out next week. In fact, promotions have already begun over at JosephCarrabis.com, where you can learn a little about each of the stories in our themed dark fiction anthology, Curses: Chronicles of Darkness. Technically, it’s a September release, but it is dark fiction, just in time for the Halloween season. Halloween was my son, Michael’s favorite holiday, (and mine, too), so I always go all out in October.
Curses Release
Curses: Chronicles of Darkness will be released on September 30th. This themed anthology has stories which all pertain to…, you guessed it – curses. It is currently available for preorder, so reserve your copy through the link below. (This link is a UBL, Universal Book Link, which allows readers to choose to purchase through their favorite distributor.) This link can also be used as a purchase link once the anthology is released.
About Curses
There are all types of curses.
Cursed places, cursed items, cursed people, cursed families.
Curses that last throughout time. Curses which can’t be broken. Curses which are brought upon ourselves. Curses that will kill you and those that will only make you wish you were dead.
Eleven tantalizing tales of curses and the cursed. Includes stories by Kaye Lynne Booth, Molly Ertel, C.R. Johansson, Robert White, Joseph Carrabis, Paul Kane, Danaeka Scrimshaw, Abe Margel, and Denise Aparo.
Preorder/Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/CursesChroniclesofDarkness
WordCrafter Curses Book Blog Tour
The WordCrafter Curses Book Blog Tour will run September 29 – October 4, 2025. It will be an exciting tour, with a double stop each day, which we’ve never done before. The original stop will host readings and guest posts from contributing authors, and the second stop of the day will be over at Undawnted, where DL Mullan will interview a few of the anthology contributors. We’ll also be running a giveaway, offering chances for one of five digital copies of the anthology in a random drawing at the end of each day. I do hope you will join in the fun, follow the tour and meet the contributing authors. If you follow the tour and leave a comment each day, you will have five chances to win a copy of this original, themed anthology, Curses: Chronicles of Darkness. Drop by to join in the fun and help us send this collection of curses off right.
Midnight Oil Release
At long last, the third volume of the Midnight Anthology Series, Midnight Oil: Stories to Fuel Your Nightmares, is scheduled for release October 28th, just in time for Halloween!
About Midnight Oil
14 authors bring you 16 dark tales that explore your deepest fears. These are the stories which nightmares are made of. Tales of monsters, mayhem, and madness which will make you shiver in the dark. Read them while you burn the Midnight Oil… if you dare.
Contributing authors include Mario Acevedo, Joseph Carrabis, Jon Shannon, Rebecca M. Senesse, DL Mullan, Zack Ellafy, Christa Planko, C.R. Johansson, Kaye Lynne Booth, Robert White, Roberta Eaton Cheadle, Chris Barili, Paul Kane, and author of the winning story in the 2025 WordCrafter Short Fiction Contest, Denise Aparo.
WordCrafter Midnight Oil Book Blog Tour
The WordCrafter Midnight Oil Book Blog Tour will run October 27 – 31, 2025. We’ll have readings and guest posts from contributing authors and maybe a few interviews where you can get to know contributors better. Of course, we’ll be running a giveaway for digital copies, too. Drop by and join in the fun, follow the tour and help us send off this dark fiction anthology right.
Halloween Facebook Book Event
We’ll be promoting all of the above books at the annual Halloween Book Event on Facebook, hosted by WordCrafter Press and Sonoran Dawn Studios on October 31, 2025. WordCrafter Press and anthology authors will have takeover slots on Friday, the 31st, promoting both Curses and Midnight Oil, as well as other works by the authors. Watch for more information on this as the holiday gets closer.
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Did you know you can sponsor your favorite blog series or even a single post with an advertisement for your book? Stop by the WtbR Sponsor Page and let me advertise your book, or you can make a donation to Writing to be Read for as little as a cup of coffee, If you’d like to show your support for this author and WordCrafter Press.
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This post sponsored by WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services.
Whether it’s editing, publishing, or promotion that you need, WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services can help at a price you can afford.
Stop by and see what we have to offer today:https://writingtoberead.com/readings-for-writers/wordcrafter-quality-writing-author-services/
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Book Review: “Ghost Therapy” & “Victim of a Delusional Mind”
Posted: September 19, 2025 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Dark Humor, Fiction, Ghost Stories, Middle Grade, Paranormal | Tags: Book Review, Dark Humor, Ghost Story, Ghost Therapy, Kaye Lynne Booth, Mark Rosendorf, Middle Grade Fiction, Paranormal, Writing to be Read Leave a commentAbout Ghost Therapy
From Book 1: Pinedale Central High School is rumored to be haunted. For fifteen-year-old Sam Anderson, his haunting comes from the bullying he suffers each day within the school’s walls. Sam doesn’t believe the rumors, not until he meets Jessica, a former Pinedale student who died over one hundred years ago. No one can see or hear her except for Sam.
Jessica convinces Sam to stand up to his bully. Unfortunately, the confrontation ends in tragedy. Now Sam is one of the ghosts no one can see or hear. At least not until he meets a former military operative, now Pinedale’s newest Guidance Counselor, Mr. Copeland.
The two form a bond created out of Copeland’s determination to help Sam find his way to the afterlife. Their efforts, however, have consequences…some good, some not so good, and one that could put the lives of everyone in the school at risk.
Ghost Therapy opens the series, “The Haunting of Pinedale High,” presented by the authors of The Wild Rose Press.
Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D9YZWG5Z?
My Review of Ghost Therapy
I received a digital copy of Ghost Therapy, by Mark Rosendorf, as a participant in Sandra’s Book Club book review program. All opinions stated here are my own.
Ghost Therapy is book one in Rosendorf’s The Haunting of Pinedale High series; a series of eight books by the authors of Wild Rose Press. I was drawn to this book by its title, but I have to be honest; here in the U.S. they have a television sit-com about a house that is haunted by several ghosts, and they interact with the current living occupants. It was pretty lame, in my opinion. In fact, I disliked it so much after a partial episode that now I can’t even tell you what the name of it was. So, when I realized that this story was about a high school filled with trapped haunts which can never leave, I was hesitant to read on. But I’m glad that I did, because I found this story quite enjoyable, with a good story line and creative solutions for the characters.
Pinedale High School has been rumored to be haunted, and Sam Anderson meets one of its ghosts one day while he’s trying to avoid Kurt Baker, school bully and Sam’s own personal nightmare. He becomes friends of a sort with the ghost, Jessica, who believes he must stand up for himself to turn the tables. When he tries to put Jessica’s advice into action, the tables are turned, but not in the way expected. Now, Sam becomes one of the ghosts who haunt Pinedale High, and no one can see or hear him in the world of the living or the dead, leaving him to wander the halls of the school alone, unable to leave the premises.
No one can see him until, someone can; a retired, special ops. soldier, turned school counselor, Mark Copeland. Mr. Copeland doesn’t believe in ghosts, until he meets Sam, and together they stand off Kurt Baker, who returns as a very disgruntled ex-student.
The set-up and execution of this story is delightful, making me smile and even earning a few chuckles along the way. The one thing I found distracting was that in the last half of the story, the antagonists last name alternates between Baker, as it was in the first part of the story, and Barton, for some reason, being the later in some places and the original in others. But I must say that Rosendorf does a skillful job of switching smoothly from one protagonist to the next when Sam finally passes on from his ghostly existence and the story.
A skillfully crafted story, but it could have used another editing run. I found Ghost Therapy to be highly entertaining, a perfect middle-grade ghost story. I give it four quills.
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About Victim of a Delusional Mind
Tragedy enters the quaint coastal town of New Haven, Oregon when the recently released convict, Ross Conrad, vows to make good on a ten-year-old threat. Private Investigators, Troy and Eva Winters take on the case when they realize their good friend, Jasmine, is the object of his delusional obsession.
When the threat becomes deadly and Jasmine turns up missing, Troy and Eva go on the hunt for Ross and his captive. The chase leads them from the Oregon coast to the dense forest of Puget Sound, Washington. Following clues and evidence of bodies left behind, Troy and Eva must find Jasmine before her time runs out.
Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Victim-Delusional-Mind-Disturbing-Investigators-ebook/dp/B08VFL67WD
My Review of Victim of a Delusional Mind
I purchased a digital copy of Victim of a Delusional Mind, by K.J. North through a KindofBook deal. All opinions stated here are my own.
I have to say, although somewhat accurate, I think they could have come up with a better title for this story. It’s not about being a victim, but about triumphing against all odds. When I learned that it is book one in the Private Investigators Troy and Eva Winters Thriller series, I decided the author must just like titles which are a mouthful to say.
Titles aside, Victim of a Delusional Mind is a first-class crime thriller. Ten years ago, Jasmine testified to send Ross Conrad to prison on drug trafficking charges. The last thing he said as he left the courtroom was that she hadn’t seen the last of him. Jasmine takes a vacation to the coast, only to learn that he is now being paroled, and she fears he will make good on his threats. When she is offered a job at the bed and breakfast she’s staying at, she sees a chance to begin a whole new chapter of her life, and she confides her fears about Ross to her new friends, Eva and Troy, who are also private investigators.
When Ross and his brother Jax initiate their plan for revenge, they kidnap her, and she must keep her wits about her to survive. Meanwhile, Eva and Troy are doing all they can to find their missing friend before it is too late. The tension is high, the stakes are life, as Ross always seems to stay one step ahead of the game.
Everything a crime thriller should be, I give Victim of a Delusional Mind five quills.
About Kaye Lynne Booth
For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and book 1 in her Time-Travel Adventure series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw, as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders and The D.I.Y. Author writing resource.
Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press, where she edits and publishes two short fiction anthologies and one poetry anthology every year amidst her many writing projects. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.
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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review on the Book Review tab above.
