Dreamwalker Blog Tour and Giveaway

Dreamwalker is the sixth novel that Russell James has published with Samhain Horror under legendary horror editor Don D’Auria!

Dreamwalker Synopsis

Two realities. One hope.

What if you lived in two worlds, and could die in either?  Pete Holm can. He is a dreamwalker, able to travel to the realm of dreams, including the devastated world of Twin Moon City, where an evil voodoo spirit holds living souls in terror with his army of the walking dead.

In the waking world, drug lord Jean St. Croix knows only the power of the dreamwalker can stop him, so St. Croix vows Pete must die.

Pete is the only hope to rescue the lost souls in Twin Moon City…unless St. Croix kills him first. Can anyone survive when two realities collide? 

Purchase Links

GoodReads:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23563310-dreamwalker

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Dreamwalker-Russell-James-ebook/dp/B00P15GV98

Samhain Horror:

https://www.samhainpublishing.com/book/5295/dreamwalker

Barnes and Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dreamwalker-russell-james/1120666682?ean=9781619227682

Giveaways

1)      Open reviewer giveaway: Anyone who reviews Dreamwalker on Amazon and one other site like GoodReads, etc. and sends Erin Al-Mehairi, publicist, their links to hookofabook@hotmail.com will be entered to win a $20 Amazon gift card. This contest ends on Feb. 28, 2015.

2)      Rafflecoper giveaway for two copies of Russell’s previous books. Two winners will each win one of two books, Black Magic and Dark Inspiration. US only, no international shipping. Must use a valid email that you can be reached by. By entering the giveaway, you consent to allow Russell to have your email for very infrequent newsletter updates. Contest ends Feb. 28, 2015. Other contest questions can be referred to Erin Al-Mehairi, publicist, Hook of a Book Media at hookofabook@hotmail.com.

Direct Link:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/231aa30b16/?

Review:

This novel hooked me from the get go. You can't get better than Russell James for setting up an action packed story that will have you up way past your bed time. What would you do if every time you fell asleep you traveled into the realm of dreams with the very real threat of dying in either one. Very scary and intense and I couldn't stop reading. This voice of the book, characters and plot all were stunning. Top notch read!

5/5

Praise for Russell R. James

“James has a talent for combining action-packed vignettes into a powerful, fast-paced whole.”
—Library Journal on Black Magic
(Five Stars, A Night Owl Top Pick) “I loved the story so much that I’m eagerly waiting to read more from him. He carefully and very intricately wove his storyline to have elements of mystery and suspense throughout. I now have a new favorite book I’ll read over and over again.”
—Night Owl Reviews on Dark Inspiration
“The book had me at the edge of my seat. The writing is so vivid I even jumped a few times. If you're a fan of the genre, love ghosts and are drawn to the supernatural, then do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of this book!”
—Long and Short Reviews on Dark Inspiration

Russell R. James, Biography

Russell James grew up on Long Island, New York and spent too much time watching Chiller, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, and The Twilight Zone, despite his parents' warnings. Bookshelves full of Stephen King and Edgar Allan Poe didn't make things better. He graduated from Cornell University and the University of Central Florida.
After a tour flying helicopters with the U.S. Army, he now spins twisted tales best read in daylight. He has written the paranormal thrillers Dark Inspiration, Sacrifice, Black Magic, Dark Vengeance, and Dreamwalker. He has two horror short story collections, Tales from Beyond and Deeper into Darkness. His next novel, Q Island, releases in 2015.
His wife reads what he writes, rolls her eyes, and says "There is something seriously wrong with you."
Visit his website at www.russellrjames.com and read some free short stories.

He and his wife share their home in sunny Florida with two cats.

To find out more about Russell R. James, please visit his Website or follow him on Facebook! Join him on Twitter, @RRJames14. Also, feel free to drop him at a line at rrj@russellrjames.com.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Island of the Forbidden

Island of the Forbidden by Hunter Shea continues the story of Jessica Bockman, the ghost-hunting heroine who has appeared in Forest of Shadows, The Graveyard Speaks and Sinister Entity, all published by Samhain Horror.  

To read more about the series and Jessica Bockman, read Hunter’s recent article.

Island of the Forbidden Synopsis

Sometimes, the dead are best left in peace.

Jessica Backman has been called to help a strange family living on a haunted island in Charleston Harbor. Ormsby Island was the site of a brutal massacre two decades ago, and now the mysterious Harper family needs someone to exorcise the ghosts that still call it home. The phantoms of over one hundred children cannot rest.

But something far more insidious is living on the island. When the living and the dead guard their true intentions, how can Jessica discover just what sort of evil lurks on Ormsby Island? And why is Jessica the only one who can plumb its dark depths?

Giveaway

Enter to win one of five Hunter Shea books being given away! Two signed copies of Montauk Monster, one signed copy of Sinister Entity, and two e-books of choice of his titles are up for grabs! One book to each winner, given in order of random drawing. Enter to win at the Rafflecopter link. Must use valid email that winners can be contacted by. Print books are U.S. residents only. Contest ends Feb. 28, 2015. Any questions, contact Erin Al-Mehairi, Publicist, at hookofabook@hotmail.com.

Direct link or use the link at the bottom of the post.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/231aa30b17/?

Purchase Links

GoodReads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23622071-island-of-the-forbidden

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Island-Forbidden-Hunter-Shea-ebook/dp/B00PDJV156/

Samhain Horror:

https://www.samhainpublishing.com/book/5298/island-of-the-forbidden

Barnes and Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/island-of-the-forbidden-hunter-shea/1120724210?ean=9781619226906

Raves for Hunter Shea

Forest of Shadows

"A frightening, gripping story that left me too frightened to sleep with the lights off. This novel scared the hell out of me and it is definitely a creepy ghost story I won't soon forget." --Night Owl Reviews

Sinister Entity

"This is the real deal. The fear is palpable. Horror novels don't get much better than this." --Literal Remains

". . .Culminates in a climactic showdown between human and spirit that keeps you glued to the pages!" --Horror Novel Reviews

Evil Eternal

"Hunter Shea has crafted another knockout. At turns epic and intimate, both savage and elegant. . .a harrowing, blood-soaked nightmare." --Jonathan Janz, author of The Sorrows

Swamp Monster Massacre

"If you're craving an old-school creature-feature that has excessive gore. . .B-horror movie fans rejoice, Hunter Shea is here to bring you the ultimate tale of terror!" --Horror Novel Reviews

Review:

Island of the Forbidden is a non stop adventure that sucks you in from the first page. It is a gripping story of two people who are trying to solve the mystery of an island brimming with the ghosts of children. The only one who can solve the mystery and help the dead find peace is Jessica Bockman. She and her friend Eddie travel to the island only to find they are there under false pretenses. Why is Ormsby House so cold? Who can she and Eddie trust when everyone around them is acting on their own agenda?  Jessica must protect the children, both the living and the dead and put a stop to the evil. You won't want to put this one down.

5/5

Hunter Shea, Biography

Hunter Shea is the author of paranormal and horror novels Forest of Shadows, Swamp Monster Massacre, Evil Eternal, Sinister Entity,  HellHole and Island of the Forbidden, which are all published by Samhain Horror. 

The June 3, 2014 release of his horrifying thriller Montauk Monster was published by Kensington/Pinnacle. His second Kensington novel, Tortures of the Damned, will be published later this year.

He has also written a short story to be read prior to Sinister Entity, called The Graveyard Speaks (it’s free, go download!), and a book of stories called Asylum Scrawls.

His work has appeared in numerous magazines, including Dark Moon Digest, Morpheus Tales, and the upcoming anthology, Shocklines : Fresh Voices in Terror. His obsession with all things horrific has led him to real life exploration of the paranormal, interviews with exorcists, and other things that would keep most people awake with the lights on.

He is also half of the two men show, Monster Men, which is a video podcast that takes a fun look at the world of horror. You can read about his latest travails and communicate with him at www.huntershea.com, on Twitter @HunterShea1, Facebook fan page at Hunter Shea or the Monster Men 13 channel on YouTube.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blood Red Roses

In this Civil War era horror piece a young man goes from the frying pan into the fire. Poor and now an orphan, Jebediah Abernathy has become indentured to one of Mississippi's most notorious plantations. Fraught with racial tensions of the time, the place is run by the fearsome Ramses, a cruel and sadistic overseer. When slaves begin to come up missing, Jeb begins to watch from the shadows and finds out what makes some gardens grow may not always be natural.

I loved this book and look forward to more by Russell James.

5/5

Link: http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Roses-What-Waits-Shadows-ebook/dp/B00IYG08LS/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1420610500&sr=8-4&keywords=blood+red+roses

Gothic Horror: Linden Manor

"Have you ever been so scared your soul left your body? "

All her life, Lesley Carpenter has been haunted by a gruesome nursery rhyme The Scottish Bride sung to her by her great grandmother. To find out more about its origins, Lesley visits the mysterious Isobel Warrender, the current hereditary owner of Linden Manor, a grand house with centuries of murky history surrounding it.

But her visit transforms into a nightmare when Lesley sees the ghost of the Scottish bride herself, a sight that, according to the rhyme, means certain death. The secrets of the house slowly reveal themselves to Lesley, terrible secrets of murder, evil and a curse that soaks the very earth on which Linden Manor now stands. But Linden Manor has saved its most chilling secret for last. "

Goodreads

Amazon

Review:

Lesley Carpenter pursues her thesis of the horrifying nursery rhyme The Scottish Bride and soon finds out her mother's stilted warning to stay away from Linden Manor may actually have some merit. Not a believer in the supernatural, Lesley finds herself beset by strange occurrences and even stranger characters in the old estate. What began as a scholarly endeavor will soon change to the terror of walking right into a well laid trap.

This tale was a page turner of the highest order. Gothic and dark, I felt like I was journeying with Lesley as she wound her way further into the inescapable bonds of her fate. 

I  have one word-more! I can't wait to read more of Catherine Cavendish's work. She weaves a haunting spell of intrigue and mystery blended with myth and magic that horror lovers-particularly women-will love. 

5/5 

The Enduring Power of Gothic Horror: A Visit with Catherine Cavendish-What Waits in the Shadows

The Enduring Power of Gothic Horror

Last year, Samhain Publishing ran an anthology competition. Their Executive Editor for the horror line – Don D’Auria – was looking for stories that had the power to chill and scare. Stories “must be gothic in feel and tone...must have that shadowy, oppressive, claustrophobic atmosphere.”

The anthology would be called What Waits In The Shadows and there would be four winning contributing novellas.

Flash forward to May 6^th 2014 – and the four winning novellas came out in ebook format as individual stories. Flash forward again to October 7^th 2014 and they’re all united in What Waits In The Shadows – in paperback.

But what makes the Gothic horror tradition so enduringly popular? Here is what the authors think:

Catherine Cavendish (author of Linden Manor): “We love to be scared, don’t we? But in a safe way. There’s just something about a creepy old house. The creaks, and shadowy corners; the atmosphere that hangs heavy with the remembered presences of long dead inhabitants, the feeling of being watched…of something waiting. When that is translated to the printed word, it becomes irresistible. We can relate it to it more than some other – sometimes more graphic – forms of horror, because most of us have felt something, on some occasion, when we’ve visited a strange and spooky house. And Gothic gives great ghosts. They never go out of fashion!”

JG Faherty (author of Castle By The Sea): "I think the appeal of gothic horror stems partly from the setting - dark, stormy nights, wave-swept castles, haunted mansions - and partly from the fact that it's ingrained in our very being. Gothic stories may very well be the oldest sub-genre we have. They certainly existed, in both romance and horror, well before the term was coined. And that may very well be because dark stormy nights and frightening places have been with us for as long as we've had civilization. There is something about that type of setting that creates a chill in us, a desire to turn on the lights (or light a fire!) and gather together to ward off the unknown things lurking just beyond our sight."

Russell James (author of Blood Red Roses):  “My favorite elements of Gothic horror are dark settings, twisted families, and supernatural evil. In Blood Red Roses I put all three into the mix and set it during the American Civil War, when Edgar Allen Poe was adding his works to the genre. In the novella, I follow a boy as he is indentured to a plantation with a reputation for cruelty, a reputation he finds out isn’t even half as terrifying as the place really is. Spells are cast, the dead threaten to rise, and the disfigured overseer may be a serial killer. Dark indeed.”

Devin Govaere (author of Bootleg Cove): “Gothic fiction provides readers with a melting pot of genres. Horror, mystery, romance, drama, and even a touch of comedy can be found in Gothic literature, which sometimes offers many moods in one story. Gothic fiction also brings darkness and anxiety to objects and places that ordinarily stand in the light. A restaurant perched on a beach brings thoughts of sunshine, laughter, and good times. A pretty young woman walking that beach would be smiling and happy. But in Bootleg Cove, the restaurant is abandoned, the beach is secluded, and the emotions that flow through Willie Douglas are dark and fearful, creating a disconcerting, isolated world where the reader never truly knows what to expect.

Gothic fiction lures readers beyond the comfort of their own world into one where they shiver in the warmth of a sunny day and give each shadow a wide berth, and then they move on to the next story to shiver again.

Four original novellas of Gothic horror!

Enter if you dare four worlds of chilling Gothic horror. Feel the oppressive heat on a plantation in the Old South, where the spirits of the dead do not rest easy. Smell the salt air in a dilapidated coastal restaurant on the Chesapeake Bay, a restaurant with a very deadly past. Explore a British manor house, but remember, what you find may have been looking for you. Hear the pounding surf beyond the stone walls of a looming castle that shouldn’t even exist. But regardless of the setting, no matter what you may think you hear or see, the truly terrifying thing is...

…What Waits In The Shadows

About the Authors

Catherine Cavendish lives with a longsuffering husband in North Wales, in a building dating back to the mid 18^th century, haunted by a friendly ghost. She announces her presence by footsteps, switching lights on and strange phenomena involving the washing machine and the TV. When not slaving over a hot computer, Cat enjoys wandering around Neolithic stone circles and visiting old haunted houses. You can connect with her here: Website  Facebook Twitter Goodreads

JG Faherty is the Bram Stoker Award®- and Thriller Award-nominated author of four novels, seven novellas, and more than 50 short stories. He writes adult and YA horror/sci-fi/fantasy, and his works range from quiet, dark suspense to over-the-top comic gruesomeness. You can follow him at  Twitter   Facebook   About Me  Website

Russell James grew up on Long Island, New York and spent too much time watching Chiller, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, and The Twilight Zone, despite his parents' warnings. Bookshelves full of Stephen King and Edgar Allan Poe didn't make things better. He graduated from Cornell University and the University of Central Florida.

After a tour flying helicopters with the U.S. Army, he now spins twisted tales best read in daylight. He has written the paranormal thrillers Dark Inspiration, Sacrifice, Black Magic, Dark Vengeance, and Dreamwalker. He has two horror short story collections, Tales from Beyond and Deeper into Darkness. His next novel, Q Island, releases in 2015.

His wife reads what he writes, rolls her eyes, and says "There is something seriously wrong with you."

Visit his Website and read some free short stories. Follow on  Twitter, or drop a line complaining about his writing to rrj@russellrjames.com.

Devin Govaere is a freelance editor and writer. She has published over a dozen novels and five novellas, writing under her own name as well as several pseudonyms. She lives in Dayton, Ohio, and can be contacted at dgovaere@gmail.com.

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You can buy What Waits In The Shadows here:

Samhain Publishing

Amazon

B&N