A Spooktastic Post: Poltergeist's Pleasure, Snow On Cinders, & All Hallows' Reads

It's Halloween week! Evil cackle. Lock all your doors and windows, turn on the lights, and settle down for some spooktastic book news.

Book two in Christine Rains' The Paramours Series, Poltergeist's Pleasure, is now available to download . . .or should I say savour? I'm not a reader of erotica by choice, but Christine created such compelling characters in book one, I'll be reading all three. 

The Paramours - ghost hunting with a kiss.

Claire McKinney has a theory that poltergeists aren't evil spirits or negative energy. When she locates a powerful vortex at the center of a haunting, she discovers a gorgeous man trapped inside. Zendal cannot escape on his own, but if Claire can create enough sexual energy with him, he will be able to break free. Intense as their passion is, it does not release him from the vortex. Claire finds herself caught not only by the ominous portal, but by Zendal’s carnal zeal as well. Can she extricate them both from the trap or will they forever be its prisoners?

Buy links: Ellora's Cave / Amazon / Kobo

Add it to read on Goodreads

Cathrina Constatine's eagerly-awaited sequel to Tallis, Snow on Cinders, has finally arrived. I've been looking forward to this moment. Tallis is one of favourite reads of 2015. 

How far would you go to protect your family? 

A peculiar metamorphosis has taken shape since the final days. And the planet is in the throes of healing. 

Fulvio McTullan leads his family and a band of misfits to form a new settlement, far from Tallas and it’s nefarious Elites. Their journey takes them into uncharted territories where strange creatures are lurking. It’s a battle of survival, not only from the creatures, but the mutated earth as well. 

Meanwhile, Pomfrey Addler, an oppressive Elite squashes the insurrection in Tallas. Suddenly, citizens begin to vanish in the middle of the night and his daughter, Paniess is hell bent on revenge. 

Fraught with mishaps, Fulvio finally locates the perfect place to settle. They begin to rebuild until they receive a call. A call which will lure them back into the clutches of Tallas.

Amazon Buy Link 


Finally, Lilo Abernathy is hosting a massive haunted Facebook Party. 

Over two dozen authors of the strange and supernatural bring you deep into their worlds! Are you brave enough to join? I'll be there. Click on the link above for more details.

Do you read horror, paranormal, or erotica? Have you ever read outside of your comfort zone and found you liked what you read?

The Martian: Read the Book. Watch the Film.

On Monday I finally got to watch my second-most anticipated film of the year, The Martian (Star Wars in December tops my list). It was a superb film. I could have watched it again, straight afterwards. It was that good. Unfortunately, another two and a half hours of the big screen would have been a ticket to migraine-city.

I was always going to be biased when it came to The Martian. The book upon which it is based by Andy Weir was my top read of 2014, and made it into my top ten science fiction reads ever list. If you're a science fiction fan, you need to read it.

The film wasn't absolutely faithful to the book, and that was okay. When I read it, I knew they would have to make some changes for it to work as a movie. It still did a superb job of capturing the books tone, humour, emotional impact, and of course the science. The Martian worked on all levels - casting, script, special effects, soundtrack.  In fact, the only part I disliked was how they did the end credits. A minor point after two hours and 24 minutes of one of the best space-related films I've ever seen.

Go see it!

While I have your attention, I'm over at Untethered Realms today talking about films and TV programmes that literally made me scream out loud. If you have the time, please pop by and share yours.

The Martian, NASA, Blood Moon, & #SciFiChat

Unless you're actually living on Mars, and cut-off from Earth like our hero from The Martian, you must have heard about Ridley Scott's film based on Andy Weir's masterpiece. I'll be seeing it this weekend. If the film lives up to the book, I will probably see it again. I loved the book that much. If you enjoy science fiction, it's a must-read. 

While we're on the subject of the red planet, did you know you could have sent your name to Mars via NASA's InSight Mission? 

I left it too late to sign up, but there will be more opportunities, starting with the Exploration Mission 1. Follow this link to sign up for email notification of future missions.

I had meant to post about the recent Blood Moon over a week ago, but time slipped away almost as fast as the Lunar Eclipse itself. At least it felt that way. As this week's post is space-related, I bumped it to today. 

Like a lot of my British friends, I set my alarm for 2am on September 28th. I watched bleary-eyed from the comfort of my bed. All I had to do was open my curtains! I didn't get as good a view as some of my friends, because I live in town and there is considerable light pollution. However, thanks to favourable weather conditions, I did watch it turn red. I was glad I'd made the effort - I'll be 76 years old when the next one occurs, assuming I'm still alive.

I do have some photographs of the event, as seen from Exmouth, courtesy of one of my work colleagues. Thanks for allowing me to share them, Simon.

All photographs © Simon Stone 2015

If you're a science fiction fan and on Twitter, there's a fantastic weekly science fiction chat every Friday, between 3-5pET. The chat is hosted by @scifichat (David A. Rozansky) and always produces lively and inspiring conversations. Last week's topic was Mars. To take part, use the #SciFiChat hashtag.

Finally, I have a huge favour to ask. Fellow Untethered Realms member M. Pax needs help to promote both her upcoming book release and this year's Realms Faire. If you're unable to do much, just signing up for her Thunderclap would be an enormous help. Please drop by her blog and see how you might be able to help.

Have you read The Martian and/or are seeing the film? Does sending your name to Mars on a NASA mission excite you? Did you see the Lunar Eclipse and Blood Moon?