Book reviews: ‘Regina Puckett’s Short Tales of Horror’ and ‘Forever After. A Dimensional Love Story.’

Hi all:

As you know it’s been Easter and again I managed to catch up with some reading and I bring you the reviews of two books I’ve finished reading very recently. Both are by female authors I know (at least in the social media dimension) and in both cases I’d read a previous work by the author and really enjoyed it. I’m happy to say I wasn’t disappointed this time either.

Please, check the books out. They’re both fabulous. If you prefer horror, I recommend Regina’s book; if you love imagination, fairy tales and unusual stories, read Mary’s. Actually, read both. You’ll thank me for it.

I’ve also had time (I’m afraid) to experiment with videos, so I leave you a link to a video where I talk about my novel The Man Who Never Was. Come on, you know you want to watch it!

And don’t forget to click on the links!

Regina Puckett’s Short Tales of Horror

I can start by saying I loved this book. I love horror movies and I love to read horror novels and stories, so this one was right up my alley. The stories are different enough to suit most tastes, from monsters, to ghosts, from slashers to dolls (clowns even, horror of horror!). After reading `Mine‘ that I found scary and unsettling, I knew I was in for a good ride. I know from Ms. Puckett (I follow her on Twitter and she’s a great follow) that she has now written and published the continuation, `Ours‘ and I’m looking forward to it. As I’ve said the stories are varied but I noticed that many have female protagonists (might be perpetrators and/or victims) and men tend to suffer sometimes the female rage, sometimes pay the price for not taking women’s concerns seriously. Some of the stories are pure horror in the best tradition (like `Mine’ or `Inheritance‘), but others like `Pieces‘ are horrific and tragic whilst touching on really serious issues (domestic violence). And what about `Will Work for Food‘ and its dark (humorous?) comment on the crisis? I won’t talk about the stories in detail as I don’t want to spoil the surprises but can thoroughly recommend the book to everybody who likes horror and does not scare easy (unless you like to be scared, of course!). I have read one of the author’s romances and also really enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to her new works. And the ones I haven’t read yet.

http://www.amazon.com/Regina-Pucketts-Short-Horror-ebook/dp/B0097H1QZ0/

Forever After. A Dimensional Love Story by Mary Meddlemore

All power to stories and imagination

‘Forever After’ is ‘a dimensional love story’ as the title indicates. It does not fit in well with any standard genres. It has romance, but a very special kind, it has fantasy (and even dragons, but that’s in the story within the story), has an ecological theme, is a fairy tale, a parable…More than anything, ‘Forever After’ is a triumph of imagination.

Mary Meddlemore is the name of the main character in the novel, and that proves how powerful a grip over the author’s imagination she obtained, that she insisted on writing the story herself. There is a story dimension in the novel, and a reality dimension, and we discover that although Mary lives in the reality dimension (the reality of the novel) she belongs in the story dimension. The fact that she has a little lamb (love Miss Lamb) and that neither she nor her lamb ever grow older should have been a clue. As her name indicates she meddles, trying to bring together two people who are made to love each other but unfortunately live in different dimensions. Andrew and Jenny can’t believe Mary’s explanations but…

The main characters are endearing, lovable and original. A boy with a dragon suit who grows into a lawyer defending good causes. A girl who managed to save a town with the help of a teacher (I also love Hannah) and a dragon (Abibus). And Mary…And Miss Lamb, of course. But even character with small parts are unforgettable: The Flower warrior, the Dragon Crier, Hannah, even the waiter at the restaurant obsessed with ‘The Suit’ and providing perfect sugar cubes…Charlie Kaufman would feel quite at home with this story that like many of his scripts explores the boundaries between reality and fiction and celebrates the power of stories and imagination. Like in ‘Enchanted’ fairy tales and reality mix with wonderful results.

Would I recommend this book? Absolutely. Anybody who loves books, writing and stories will like this book. On the other hand if you think that reality is superior to fiction and material things more important than imagination, maybe you won’t.

I have read the author’s collection of short stories ‘The Seventh Sheep’ and adored it. I follow her blog (http://marymeddlemore1.wordpress.com) and I am aware that she’s working on a sequel of Forever. I can’t wait and in the meantime plan to read ‘In the Reign of the Ilev’ too.

http://www.amazon.com/Forever-After-Dimensional-Story-ebook/dp/B009HXI30A/

GO ON, CLICK!

And, miss at your peril. Here I’m talking about The Man Who Never Was. Have a laugh!

http://youtu.be/51H6QzATtb0

Thank you for reading!