Preorder The Stranger horror anthology. #amreading.
Night has fallen. The gates have opened.
Do you dare take a step?
I’m thrilled to announce preorders are now available for The Stranger, the new horror anthology from Corbeau Media!
Get into the Halloween spirit with twelve new horror novellas from the twisted minds of our favorite authors. With demons, serial killers, cursed objects, fallen angels, and Death himself, there’s a spooky treat for every taste in this delicious mix. Dig in and see what The Stranger has in store for you.
Thank you for preordering! I hope you enjoy this collection.
Just keep your night light on.
Which places have provided you with story inspiration? #UpbeatAuthors.
Today at #UpbeatAuthors, we’re discussing the places that have given us inspiration for stories.
Setting has always been a huge source of inspiration for me. Nature, in particular, is a bountiful source. I could hike through the woods over and over and always find new nuances. There is something mystical about being in a place “untouched” by humanity. As Lord Byron said in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, “I love not Man the less, but Nature more.” In my case, this love inspired my Gemini Island Shifters series.
However, there have been other settings that have inspired me. The beach, whether it has been a hot stretch of sand on Mexico’s Mayan Riviera or the cold Orkney shores, has provided me with starting points for both my Orkney Selkies series and my stand alone romance Sunburn.
Sometimes inspiration finds me within the walls of a building. Houses provide us with shelter but in the imaginations of a writer, a house can become the setting of a star-crossed romance. Different sorts of homes have inspired Night Lover and also my upcoming Handymen series.
And as you may have noticed, I have a thing for hotels. They crop up a lot in my books and I don’t think it’s a coincidence. I spent many years working for the Toronto Convention and Visitors Association, so I love writing about hotels. Thus, Vice in my Vegas Sins series, the Ursa Resort in the Gemini Island Shifters series, and Apollo’s resort in Sunburn. Write what you know, they say.
Which places inspire your stories?
Dead End Road by @ripleygold. 99 cent sale!
DEAD END ROAD by Lori Whitwam is on sale for 99 cents!
I am so excited to reveal the cover for The Stranger, an anthology of horror coming to Corbeau Media! The Cemetery Guardian, my first horror novella, will be a part of this exciting collection of stories that will make you look over your shoulder.
I’ve been able to read a couple of these stories and I can assure you they will give you a case of the shivers. The release date is set for October 2, just in time for Halloween, but look for preorder links soon. The Stranger will be available in ebook and print format at all major vendors. Stay tuned! More details will be available shortly at Corbeau Media.
I’m very excited to be able to offer my readers something a little different this year. As you may know, I recently wrote a horror novella entitled The Cemetery Guardian. It will be published in time for Halloween with Corbeau Media, along with some wonderful stories by some of my favorite writers.
What is a cemetery guardian? Folklore tells us it is the spirit of the first person ever interred in a cemetery. Every graveyard is said to have one of these watchful spirits and its main function is to protect all souls, living or dead, who enter its domain.
For the most part, there is little written about cemetery guardians but I’ve always been intrigued by this legend. They appear to be benign spirits who would never hurt a soul. Caretakers, one might say.
When I decided to use this story as the basis of my novella, I wondered what might happen if a cemetery guardian wasn’t quite as benevolent as previously depicted.
I dug deeper. There are accounts which present a more sinister twist to this legend. In fact, there are some who believe these “guardians” were killed in order to fulfill this function. I can see it now. The town of such-and-such has just opened a new cemetery. They need a cemetery guardian in order to keep it safe.
So they go out and find one. After all, no one would answer that job advertisement.
I wanted to give my cemetery guardian a history, a name. I can’t think of any who have been given a backstory before. Very soon, you will meet him and I hope the encounter is unforgettable.
The next time you visit a graveyard, do spare these souls a passing thought. And if you feel like you’re being watched, it’s because you are.
Be kind to yourself. Turn off the noise. #UpbeatAuthors.
Today’s theme at #UpbeatAuthors is “favorite way to be kind to yourself.” If you read my blog, you’ll know this is something I’ve been thinking about a lot. There comes a time when there’s really no choice. We have to take a stand with our own health, be it mental, physical and emotional. In fact, I would argue they are all intertwined.
For me, protecting my emotional wellbeing is very much connected to “turning off the noise.” What does this mean? It can mean different things for different people.
If you are an author, it might mean you surround yourself with positive people, ones who can be honest without being nasty. It might mean you don’t search out all your reviews on Goodreads. Trust me on this one. I read my reviews when someone in my fan group has told me they posted one but I don’t scroll for them anymore. Even if you’re the most popular author in business, you will have readers who despise your work and who aren’t afraid to say so. No matter how thick your skin is, reading those words will have an impact.
If you have a different job, it might mean removing yourself from gossip and negative conversations. It might mean you take your breaks outside in the fresh air. I’ve had corporate jobs before and I know full well how toxic the cubicle world can be. It helped me to remove myself from my pod regularly.
So many factors can add to the voices inside our heads. I know I always have a mental “to do list.” When the list grows longer instead of shorter, I feel stress. Yes, we’re all adults. We need to get things done. However, I would argue we can probably all manage our time better and spend less time fretting about things we can’t change.
Most of all, we have to find our peace where we can. If that means we go for walks in the park, so be it. If you long to spend the weekend in your garden, smelling the flowers, make time for it. If you’ve been putting off reading that book, take a few minutes and read.
Life will continue. Work will still be there when you get back. No one will blame you for taking a beat. Just be still, close your eyes and breathe.
Now stop reading this blog and go do something that makes you happy.
If you follow my blog, you’ll know I recently had to take a break from social media and all the “noise” out there. It wasn’t long. A few noise-free days did the trick. And you know what? I didn’t miss being tied to my phone. I logged in here and there, of course, but cut down on the endless scrolling. I can honestly say I feel better now, refreshed.
Reducing one’s time on social media doesn’t cure every ill. I do recognize this but it’s amazing how removing one little thing from my list of things to do cleared my head.
From now on, I’ll be concentrating my energies on the positive, on making little changes to my life and my writing and my approach. It starts today.
Following the lead of #UpbeatAuthors, today I’ll be talking about one simple way to improve our health. Now, I’m not a doctor but I think most of us know what’s good for us and what’s bad for us. We all know when we’re “cheating” with our health.
If I could make one change for myself, it would be the following: MOVE.
I spend so much time at the computer or at my work desktop. When I get home, I sit. I know I don’t move enough. In fact, I think I’ve blogged about that too. It doesn’t have to be a game of football (to be frank, I never quite figured out how that game works anyway and I’m just not interested in sports.) For me, the key has always been getting up off my bum.
Personally, I love to walk and hike. Not only does it move my limbs, it clears my head. I could use a lot of that right now. With so much going on at home and at work, “head clearing” is just as important to my personal health as moving.
So won’t you move with me today? It doesn’t have to be far, it doesn’t have to be long but it should take you in a new direction. Let’s stretch. Let’s breathe. Let’s get going.