Posts Tagged ‘horror’
Review: Blood Cruise by Jake Bible
Posted on: August 6, 2016
Over the year, I’ve become a fan of Jake Bible’s ‘Writing In Suburbia’ podcast. Writing in Suburbia is geared toward pro-writers, but is chock-full of great information for writers at all levels. The podcast is irreverent and speaks to the less glamorous side of the writing life (e.g. embracing housework chores of the day). Jake’s a prolific writer across many genres. He typically writes a novel a month. You read that right, a novel a month!
I decided to read his fiction and started with Blood Cruise, since I rarely get an opportunity to read thrillers. The title and cover art immediately hooked me. 
I enjoyed this book quite a bit. What’s not to like? There’s something for everyone: action/adventure, mystery, intrigue, horror and a little science fiction. Bible keeps the pace going at an incredible speed. He achieves this through the use of zippy and effective dialogue that reveals character, short chapters and excellent plotting.
The set-up starts off pretty simply: Ben Clow thinks he is going on a short vacation on a private cruise with Maggie, his girlfriend and Nick, his friend and former poker buddy. Despite stepping onto a yacht named Lucky Sucker, little does Ben suspect that soon he will encounter gangsters, spies, deep cover agents and other suspicious characters, and a giant, genetically modified, blood-thirsty sea monster. The sea monster is compelling and scary. Bible moved pretty seamlessly through various characters’ viewpoints. And, although I wouldn’t have minded lingering with several of the characters and experiencing more of their internal thoughts, these issues didn’t knock me out of the book. He did a superb job at telling a gripping story with believable and interesting characters. This is a fun read and makes me want to explore more of his work.
Woo-hoo! A few weeks ago I did a cover reveal about my story that is in UnCommon Origins.
It’s now really here. The UnCommon Origins anthology launched this week and I am thrilled! Get it here!
UnCommon Origins: A Collection of Gods, Monsters, Nature, and Science
UnCommon Origins presents 22 depictions of moments on the precipice, beginnings both beautiful and tragic. Fantastical stories of Creation, Feral Children, Gods and Goddesses (both holy and horrific), and possibilities you never dared imagine come to life.
Including stories from some of the most talented Speculative Fiction and Magical Realism authors around, UnCommon Origins will revisit the oldest questions in the universe:
Where did we come from?
and
What comes next?
We even have our own book trailer!
My story, ‘The Curl of Emma Jean’ is about two sisters, race, fairies and the God Faunus. What more could you ask for?
My writing buddy, Fraser Sherman gave a thoughtful (and positive) review of the collection on his excellent blog. We already have over 50 reviews on Amazon! It’s also trending in the horror anthology Amazon category.
For three months, our publisher P.K. Tyler has been working on promotion and also teaching myself and the other 21 authors about how to launch a book. I’ve learned so much and I can’t wait to share some of my insights with you in another post.
If you like speculative fiction, you’ll enjoy this collection. It’s got something for everyone. Get it here.
Also, if you’re willing to provide an honest review on Amazon, Goodreads or your blog, within the next two weeks, contact me about getting a complimentary copy.
In other news, last weekend I attended the historic State of Black Science Fiction Convention in Atlanta. It was a mind-blowing experience. SOBSFC brought together creators from different mediums (e.g. filmmakers, comic book artists, writers, producers, scholars, etc.,) to converge, discuss and share about the world of sci-fi and the Black experience over the past two centuries. There were panels on everything from Afrofuturism in Arts and Culture to Black Southern Folklore in Horror Literature.
I even dipped my toe into SteamFunk cosplay for the first time ever. Loved it!
I plan on writing a blog post about attending this transformative con.
June is my birthday month and with this book launch and conference, it’s been a fantastic one so far. I hope your June has been offering you writerly goodness.
