Book Review: “The Murder of Sleepy Hollow”

About The Murder of Sleepy Hollow

This ghost-filled cozy mystery is perfect for spooky season! In small-town Redemption, Wisconsin, paranormal investigator Ike Krane finds himself tied up in a plot that rivals the mystery of his Sleepy Hollow namesake! With Ike accused of murder — and now, missing — can amateur sleuth Charlie Kingsley clear his name by finding who is really haunting the town?

Purchase Links:

Chirp: https://www.chirpbooks.com/audiobooks/the-murder-of-sleepy-hollow-by-michele-pw-pariza-wacek

Audible: https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Sleepy-Hollow-Kingsley-Mysteries/dp/B0BSB5XMNK

My Review of The Murder of Sleepy Hollow

I purchased an audiobook copy of The Murder of Sleepy Hollow, by Michele Pariza Wacek, through a Chirp Deal, because it was the perfect story for an October review. From the title to the cover image, this book screams Halloween. All opinions stated here are my own.

The narrator, Kristin James, does an outstanding job of bringing this story to life for the listener. Each character is distinguishable, as she switches to a different voice for each one. James did a smashing job.

Cozy mystery readers will love this spooky Halloween tale. Redemption is known to be a haunted town, with several haunted houses. A paranormal investigator from the town of Sleepy Hollow named – you guessed it – Ike Krane, mysterious appearances of messy jack-o-lanterns, and folks are awakened in the middle of the night by the sound of galloping hooves in Redemption. It seems the legend of Sleepy Hollow has come to town, and living in what is claimed to be the most haunted house in Redemption makes local tea maker, Charlie Kingsley a target. Add to that Ike’s old girlfriend, who shows up looking for him, and journalist from Sleepy Hollow, who throws suspicion of murder onto our good friend Ike, but…, where is Ike anyway?

Charlie plays amateur sleuth, trying to sort it all out. Could Ike really be a murderer? Or is he just a guy whose parents had a twisted sense of humor? And why does it seem that the headless horseman has followed him to town?When one of our guests from Sleepy Hollow is found murdered, and Ike is missing, it throws suspicion on Charlie as the main suspect, and puts a strain on her relationship with her friend, the local sheriff, who she is ‘not dating’.

This story plays on Halloween humor and is sure to raise a few chuckles for a really fun read. Maybe it’s not so scary, but it does raise questions to keep you guessing until the end. I give The Murder of Sleepy Hollow five quills.

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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.

Writer’s Corner: The Evolution of a Story

Posted: October 6, 2025 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Anthology, Fiction, Short Fiction, Stories, Writer's Corner, Writing | Tags: "Sangoma Zombie Elephants & Tokoloshe Oh My!", Kaye Lynne Booth, Midnight Oil, Story Development, Titles, Writer's Corner, Writing, Writing to be Read | 12 Comments

Caracature of a woman typing on a keyboard at a very messy desk. Text: Writer's Corner with Kaye Lynne Booth

It started with a simple idea, sparked by one of Robbie’s “In Touch with Nature” segments on the South African elephants and their plight due to illegal poaching. Who wouldn’t love to give the elephant a chance to get even? To rise up and slay the cruel poachers? That would require something like a zombie elephant. An elephant that was a zombie, now that would be a formidable foe.

So, taking the idea of a vengeful zombie elephant, I began to research. The story would need to take place in South Africa, where one can find both elephants and poachers. First, I looked at the beliefs held there about how a zombie could be created. Robbie suggested I go with the beliefs of the Zulu people, and steered me toward the legend of the tokoloshe, which are turned into zombie creatures, controlled by the sangoma or shaman who created them.

Tokoloshe are squat, troll-like creatures which are said to be found near bridges. The have small hands, large, hairy feet and long penises, which are often slung over their shoulders. They have small squinty eyes, protruding brows and long, stringy hair. (Now, I know you’re probably asking, what about the females? How do they procreate? But as far as I can tell, all tokoloshe have long penises, so they must all be male. As to the procreating thing, I don’t have a clue. Information on Zulu culture and traditions is not abundant, here in the U.S., and I am thankful for the information sent to me by Robbie about these creatures of legend.)

An idea began to form as to how I could incorporate this Zulu legend into my story, and I began to outline my tale, with a working title of “Zombie Elephant”. This required even more research, and I learned that there are two types of shamans in the Zulu culture, the sangoma, who is in touch with the Zulu ancestors and more likely to be found using dark magic, and the inyanga, which is more of an herbalist or healer, and that they are chosen by the ancestors, and go through rigorous training to fulfill these roles.

My idea involved two Zulu boys, Nelwazi and Nhlanhla, who acquire some of the zombie powder, made from crushed tokoloshe bones, from a powerful sangoma and create a zombie elephant by accident. The sangoma sends the tokoloshe after the two boys. From that, I was able to complete an outline and start writing.

I wrote this story while my computer was down, so it was written in longhand and then digitized after I got my new laptop. Both of my stories for the Curses anthology were written like this, and they changed a lot when I typed them out on the keyboard. Oddly enough, this story changed very little when transferred into digital form. What was amazing about this story was that I had so much fun writing it through all the stages. I even had to chuckle during the final reading on the last edit. I just couldn’t help it.

You see, somehow, the tokoloshe and their long penises stole the show. I found that these little guys were always up to mischief, and they made appearances when I least expected. And who knew the boys would come across an unenchanted tokoloshe, not under a sangoma’s control? But there he was, becoming a character in his own right. The zombie elephant was still there with her own part in the story, but I had imagined a story with her as the star, or at least playing a major part. Actually, she still did play a major role, but the darn tokoloshe were bigger than life. (When I looked back, all of it was there in my outline, but I guess the writing of the story just brought it all to life for me.)

Each posed different problems that Nelwazi needs to solve. He must not only disperse the tokoloshe that are sent after them by the sangoma, but he must find a way to undo the curse he inadvertently placed on the poor elephant, and Ngobizitha, the sangoma he ticked off, is the only one who can help him. These unusual problems required me, the writer, to come up with some creative solutions. When the story was finished, “Zombie Elephant” no longer seemed to be the right title. And while the tokoloshe stole the spotlight on several occasions, it didn’t seem right to switch to “Tokoloshe”, because the story encompasses so much more.

I was shocked to realize that my final word count was over 15,000 words. That’s three times the maximum word count of 5,000 set for the story submissions for the Midnight Oil anthology, which is the intended destination for this story. That’s almost novella length. I wasn’t sure if this story belonged in this anthology anymore. There wasn’t time to write another story, so in the end, I decided to include it, but it is a strong enough story to be a standalone.

And that is the evolution of “Sangomas, Tokoloshe, & Zombie Elephants, Oh My!”, which will be featured in its entirety in Midnight Oil: Stories to Fuel Your Nightmares. Scheduled for release on October 28.

About Kaye Lynne Booth

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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 segment of “Writer’s Corner” is sponsored by the Robbie’s Inspiration blog site, where you can find ideas on writing and baking with hostess, Robbie Cheadle.

“Curses” & Kaye Lynne Booth on Joseph Carrabis Again

Posted: October 4, 2025 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Anthology, Blog Tour, Book Promotion, Book Release, Books, Dark fiction, Fiction, Horror, Paranormal, Short Fiction, Stories, Supernatural, WordCrafter Press | Tags: "Caverna Del Oro", Anthology, Cave of Gold, Curses: Chronicles of Darkness, Dark fiction, Joseph Carrabis, Kaye Lynne Booth, WordCrafter Press | Leave a comment

Book Cover: Curses Three women with horned headdresses , and flames above their heads. Text: Curses: Chronicles of Darkness, Edited by Kaye Lynne Booth

Meet the contributing authors and learn about their stories in Curses: Chronicles of Darkness.

Kaye Lynne Booth’s “Cavern Del Oro (Cave of Gold)” in Curses

Wrapping Up the WordCrafter “Curses” Book Blog Tour

Posted: October 3, 2025 | Author: kayelynnebooth | 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

Curses Tour Banner - Dark dungeon walls with Curses in the center.
Text: WordCrafter Book Blog Tours Presents Curses: Chronicles of Darkness, A Dark Fiction Anthology, Contributing authors: Kaye Lynne Booth, Molly Ertel, C.R. Johansson, Robert White, Joseph Carrabis, Paul Kane, Danaeka Scrimshaw, Abe Margel, Denise Aparo

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

Day 2 of the WordCrafter “Curses” Book Blog Tour

Posted: September 30, 2025 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Audio Excerpt, Blog Tour, Dark fiction, Giveaways, Guest Post, Short Fiction, Stories, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours | Tags: Anthology, Curses: Chronicles of Darkness, Dark fiction, Joseph Carrabis, Kaye Lynne Booth, Robbie's Inspiration, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours | Leave a comment

Curses book in center of dark dungeon background.
Text: WordCrafter Book Blog Tours Presents Curses: Chronicles of Darkness, A WordCrafter Anthology, Contributing Authors: Kaye Lynne Booth, Molly Ertel, C.R. Johansson, Robert White, Joseph Carrabis, Paul Kane, Danaeka Scrimshaw, Abe Margel,and Denise Aparo

For the first stop for Day 2 of the WordCrafter Curses Book Blog Tour, we’re over at Robbie’s Inspiration, where Robbie Cheadle introduces contributing author, Joseph Carrabis with readings from his stories, and allows me to present a post on the inspiration for my story “Caverna Del Oro (Cave of Gold)”. Join us in sending off 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.

Robbie’s Inspiration – WordCrafter Curses Book Blog Tour Day 2 #fiction #Curses

Welcome to the WordCrafter “Curses” Book Blog Tour!

Posted: September 29, 2025 | Author: kayelynnebooth | 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 Comments

Welcome 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

Dark dungeon background with Curses book in center and author photos on each side.
Text: New From WpordCrafter Press, Curses: Chronicles of Darkness, C.R. Johansson, Abe Margel, Paul Kane, Denise Aparo, Danaeka Scrimshaw, Robert White, Molly Ertel, Kaye Lynne Booth, Joseph Carrabis

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.

Pre-Order and Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/CursesChroniclesofDarkness

Meet Kaye Lynne Booth (That’s Me!)

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

Book Review: “Ghost Therapy” & “Victim of a Delusional Mind”

Posted: September 19, 2025 | Author: kayelynnebooth | 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 comment

About 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

Book Cover: Woamn walking along the beach with bird of prey flying above.
Text: Private Investigators Troy and Eva Winters Thriller Series, Victim of a Delusional Mind, K.J. North

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

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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.

Review in Practice: That Th!nk That You Do, volume 2

Posted: September 8, 2025 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Book Review, Books, Nonfiction, Relationships, Review in Practice, romance, The Human Condition | Tags: Joseph Carrabis, Kaye Lynne Booth, Nonfiction, Relationships, Review in Practice, Romanace, That Th!nk You Do vol. 2, The Human Condition, Writing to be Read | 4 Comments

I volunteered to be a first reader for author Joseph Carrabis for his upcoming nonfiction book on romance and relationships, That Th!nk That You Do, vol. 2. I reviewed the first book of this title and you can read that here: https://writingtoberead.com/2023/05/15/review-in-practice-that-thnk-you-do/. While that first book deals with human thought processes and behaviors in general, volume 2 deals with romance and relationships, and the differences between the sexes. His premises are based on solid research and contemporary studies, and may be pretty accurate, unless you are weird, like me.

How age affects perspective, and my reviews.

In the section titled “Romancing Real Women”, Carrabis offers us two different versions of a passage from a hypothetical romance story. The first is what I would call romance adventure, where the dashing hero saves the damsel in distress, with a big, muscular male playing the part of hero. The second offers up a loving, playful, sensitive male character, who puts his heroine up on a pedestal. Then he asks which you think will catch a woman’s attention, and goes on to explain why they are both very age demographic:

“the former is designed to attract younger women more so than older women. Mature women will appreciate the former but the latter fantasy will stay with them.”

This is not surprising, as I would have guessed that the first would appeal to the younger, more hormonal group of females. And of course, as an older woman, I can see why the second version would stay with more mature women, who value stability in their lives.

I’ve never been one to go in for sappy, feel-good writing, which many romances are, and why I read so few of them and why I don’t write them. I can’t make myself do it, although I know I could if I wanted to. I even have outlines and beginnings for a few stored away with my trunk novels.

But I’m not heartless and I am female, so I do read romance occasionally. But, I don’t think I’m looking for a hero. In fact, I don’t think I ever was. I’m not a fan of Scarlet O’hara being swept off her feet by Rhett Butler, but if an author can keep it realistic, I can make it through the story and often, enjoy it.

But here’s the thing. After reading this, I had to wonder if the same factors Carrabis shows us might not also affect the way that I review a romance, especially since neither of the examples used appealed to me in a big way. Upon first thought, I would have said that it’s always been that way for me, but I had to wonder if my romance reviews have changed over the years without my noticing. And I don’t think it has.

When I was a judge for the Western Writers of America’s Spur Awards, back in 2018, they gave me the western romance category. Although I cringed when they gave me my category, I found that for me, as long as a tale carries a good, strong, storyline to hold my interest, I can tolerate the romance, even if it is a little sappy. And to be honest, I was mostly through that hormonal stage before I started doing my blog and/or book reviews, so perhaps this line of thinking doesn’t prove or disprove anything, but it is an interesting premise to explore.

If you’re interested, you can catch my western romance reviews of Spur contenders here: https://writingtoberead.com/2020/03/30/judging-for-the-2020-w-w-a-spur-awards/

Meeting His/Her Family

Carrabis emphasizes how much you can learn about your partner from meeting his/her family. Interactions within the family can be indications of how your partner may prefer to communicate their needs and desires, as well as their attitudes toward others, giving you an idea of what type of life-partner they might be. And it does make sense.

Thinking back to when I met my second husband’s family, I think I should have run like hell. If I had, it would have saved a lot of greed later, because the dysfunctional traits and behavior never went away and came back repeatedly to bite me in the butt. But if I had, I also wouldn’t have spent most of my adult life with a man that I truly love, and frankly, I can’t imagine what life without him would have been like, so I’m glad that I didn’t.

Other Interesting Points Made

Another interesting claim Carrabis makes, is the importance of voice in relationships, from harmonic voices tending to form a closer bond, to holding on to the partner whose voice you enjoy hearing, and the benefits of a partner who sings. Also, I loved the chapter titled, “Men Get Stupid Over Sex”, which talks about the different types of risk which sex poses for men vs. women, and men’s willingness to risk more. I would guess that the risks may seem greater for men in recent times because, as Carrabis points out, only in recent times, have men been forced to take responsibility for their actions and their offspring

Summary

A life-long student of the human condition, Carrabis shares some astute insights into the human condition and differences between the sexes based on solid research and personal observations. He offers these up with a pinch of humor, making reading this book feel like chatting with an old friend. I was able to relate his premises to relationships in my own life, and in many cases, they were spot on, with interesting ideas on some different ways to approach the search for a soulmate.

Buy direct from the author: https://josephcarrabis.com/books/#TTYDv2

Writer’s Corner: Caution in Using AI Tools in Writing

Posted: September 1, 2025 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: AI Technology, Fiction, Writer's Corner, Writing | Tags: AI Technology, Kaye Lynne Booth, Writer's Corner, Writing to be Read | 25 Comments

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I use of AI tools in my writing and editing tasks. I utilized the MS editor and ProWriting Aide to help spot typos and misspellings and passive voice writing, but I don’t always agree with the AI and often dismiss suggestions which don’t fit in with voice and tone.

I have even used a free version of ChatGPT, which is generative AI, to help enhance my descriptions in my own writing. It is useful when describing a scene or area which I haven’t actually visited in real life. When writing Sarah, although I had been to Glenwood Springs, where Sarah ends up, many times, I’d not visited in Sarah’s time. It was quite a different scene, coming into Glenwood Canyon on horseback, just after the railroad had arrived there, with no four-lane highway running through, from what I’ve witnessed in my lifetime. I used ChatGPT to help visualize what Sarah might have seen as she came into town, with no large hot springs pool tourist attraction, but many smaller hot springs sending up steam along the riverbanks. The version of ChatGPT which I used only offered a general description, and didn’t get that detailed, so I had to rely on my memory of photos at the pool, depicting that time to add the details. And please understand, at no time did I take text generated by the AI word for word, but simply used its descriptions and wording to enhance my own writing.

While I always caution writers who use AI to use caution by not using AI generated text word for word, and not accepting AI editing suggestions without considering each one individually, we are now supposed to reveal to Amazon if AI has been used in any part of the writing when we publish, even if you just used it to get some ideas or to polish your manuscript.

Now, let me be clear. I do not condone using any type of AI to write the story for you, then slapping your name on it as author. While I know there are authors who do just that, I don’t consider that writing. I consider it copying, and I consider it dishonest to put your name on something you didn’t actually write yourself. People are now writing entire books using AI and they are making money off of them, but they aren’t authors, they’re imposters. Authors write. That’s what they do. They don’t let AI do it for them because the actual act of writing is too difficult and takes to much time. These folks are just in it for the money, and they don’t care how it comes to them, as long as it comes. A real author cares about the product they put their name on, and they should want it to be their own.

So, when I found an article in Writer’s Weekly that relates the tale of an author who uses no AI, but had her work flagged as plagiarism, claiming it was AI generated, it illustrated the fact for me, even more, that you can’t trust technology and AI is not infallible. You can read that article here: https://writersweekly.com/angela-desk/ai-detectors-are-now-flagging-writing-that-was-not-created-using-ai. It’s some pretty scary stuff.

Today’s technology offers tools that can come in handy and make a writer’s life easier. They can be a good thing, if they are used properly. But AI isn’t always right and anyone who checks each editing suggestion individually will soon find this to be true. AI is only as good as the methods used to train it. My advice: use AI tools when they are helpful to you, but don’t use AI to do the work for you. Be sure that your own ideas and words are in the forefront.

About Kaye Lynne Booth

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. 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 segment of “Writer’s Corner” is sponsored by the Robbie’s Inspiration blog site, where you can find ideas on writing and baking with hostess, Robbie Cheadle.

WordCrafter News: “Curses” Coming in September

Posted: August 25, 2025 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Anthology, Blog Tour, Book Release, Books, Dark fiction, Fiction, Horror, Short Fiction, Stories, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter Press | Tags: Anthology, C.R. Johansson, Curses, Danaeka Scrimshaw, Dark fiction, Denise Aparo, Joseph Carrabis, Kaye Lynne Booth, Paul Kane, Robert White, WordCrafter Press | 5 Comments

I’m excited to announce the coming release of the Curses anthology from WordCrafter Press on September 30. Naturally we’ll be launching this collection of stories featuring curses: cursed places, cursed objects, cursed people with a WordCrafter Book Blog Tour September 29 – October 5, where you can meet a different contributing author and learn more about them and their story through guest posts, readings and interviews. I do hope you’ll all join us as we celebrate with the authors and promote the anthology’s success.

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 we bring upon ourselves. Curses that will kill you and those that will only make you wish you were dead.

Ten 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.

On The Home Front

September is always a hard month for me because it is in September that my son, Michael died. I try to keep it a pretty quiet month, with not a lot of deadlines or other obligations to meet. It’s also the month that he was born and needless to say, I usually spend a lot of time thinking about him during September.

He’s been gone now for sixteen years. That’s a long time. So, for me, the month of September is kind of a month of mourning, but it’s also a month-long celebration of his life, even after all these years. I drag out all my old photos and think a lot about the memories they represent. I talk to Michael all the time, but during September, we have one-way chats at least daily, and sometime, even more.

But Michael was my biggest fan when he was alive, and although you may not hear a lot from me on social media in September, the wheels of production will go on, because he would have wanted it that way. He was always interested in what I was writing and even wrote short stories and poetry of his own.

The end of the month will see the release of the Curses anthology, so I’ll be working on blog tour preparations. And looking forward, I’ll also be editing and compiling the stories for Midnight Oil, the third book in the Midnight anthology series, which will include my story with the working title of “Elephant Zombie”, and will be released in October. Lastly, I’ll be preparing Smothered, a paranormal romance by B.T. Clearwater, which will also be released in October.

Wow! Now that I put it all down here, I guess I may be pretty busy in September after all.

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 her Time-Travel Adventure novel, 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. 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 sponsored by WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services.