October bookfest

Mmm, October. It’s my favorite time of the year. The air starts to turn cold, bookstores begin showcasing their horror and dark fantasy selections, and pumpkins begin appearing on doorsteps.

When I was younger, I spent most of the month reveling in all of the horror movies the world offered me. The first time I saw Night of the Living Dead was during a creature feature marathon. Now my passions are divided in threes: books, food, and writing. As I do my three day tour over the next few days I’ll hit on each one.

Today, books :)

I enjoy hitting the bookstores during October and seeing what new horror, dark fantasy, and paranormal books they offer. Mmm, so many books, each offering pretty dark covers that hint at Things Man Was Not Meant To Know (so, of course, man investigates).

Here are some of my current favorites.


Wicked Gentleman, by Ginn Hale. In a beautifully sensual world, a demon and an inquisitor work together to find the inquisitor’s missing sister. Their search forces them to face their past and the more unpleasant sides of their world. My favorite part? They begin falling for one another.

I’ve read Wicked Gentleman many times and each time is a delight. The writing is unbelievably wonderful and the characters complex. I can’t wait to read it again.



World War Z, by Max Brooks. Zombies nearly wipe out mankind. Mankind, though, fights back, and ten years later the narrator of WWZ goes around, interviewing the survivors about their experiences. The anecdotes range from scary to poignant, one of which made me cry the first time I read it.

For a really interesting experience, get the audio version of the book. It’s one thing to read the sections that detail people’s zombie experiences in Europe or Japan. It’s another to hear it.



After Midnight, by Teresa Medeiros. A regency that reminded me of a Scoobie Doo cartoon. Caroline and her sister Portia try to figure out whether their mid sister’s suitor is a vampire. Is he undead? No, he can’t be. Is he? No... maybe. Along the way, Caroline and the guy fall for one another while Portia sets up a romance for the sequel.




Sins & Shadows, by Lyn Benedict. Sylvie is a PI... for the supernatural world. Burnt out after a mission gone bad, Sylvie is in the midst of calling it quits when a mysterious man enters her office, asking her to find his missing lover. It’s a zany, creepy read. My cat, Darian, loves napping beside this one.



Night of the Living Trekkies, by Kevin David Anderson. I saw a book trailer for this a couple weeks ago. Before the trailer was done, I had opened up another screen and pulled up Amazon. By the time the trailer was done, I was halfway through ordering a copy. When the book came, I devoured it like a zombie tearing into flesh. OMG, this book was fun. Zombies + Trekkies = happy me.






Dark Designs, by Luisa Prieto. Yeah, I know, I wrote it. I have a copy on my desk, though, and on occasion I’ll pick it up and begin reading. I wrote the thing and yet it captures me. There’s this guy and he’s trying to get away from a chick with magical tattoos. Will he? I wrote it! I know the answer. Despite that, I have to turn the page and find out.

What are your favorites?

Fighting off plot bunnies

Hi, DIK :) I’m Luisa Prieto, author of such books as Wow That’s Long (Dark Designs), Now I’m Hungry (Cooking with Ergot), and That Wasn’t Funny (also known as Written in Blood, as nicknamed by people who read it after Ergot).

I’m pretty buzzed to be here. In honor of my DIK blogging debut, I’d like to offer a lucky commenter a copy of any of my books (may I recommend That Demon Is Hot, I Wish He’d Come After Me, aka Shadow Hunt?).

Over in my corner of the universe, summer is upon us. It’s hot, the days are bright, and the air is filled with the shrieks of kids on summer vacation. Me, I’m tucked away in my office, working on Is It Done Yet? (the After Dark revision) and enjoying the air conditioning.

In order to streamline the revision, I’ve recently cleaned up the office (embarrassing truth: clutter distracts me. I’ll start focusing on it and then I’ll start coming up with a story about a writer who makes a robot to clean after him. Before I know it, there’s a new plot bunny in my life, trying to distract me from the revision. Ugh).

The books in the bookshelf have been organized, the books were moved off the corner of my desk so the cat can finally take up the space and nap (she generously lets the computer stay, though, as long as I pet her), the Christmas wrapping paper was finally put away, and the small fridge that had been half hidden behind the wrapping paper is finally visible.

The roommate (Jen) and I got the fridge a couple years ago. It’s for shrimp for the cat and soda water and Lunchables for me, so that during the night I don’t have to leave the computer to make the thirty foot trek to the kitchen to grab something (second embarrassing truth: when I’m deep in a project, I’ll forget to eat or drink. I’ll keep working happily until I’ll start getting light headed).

While it was nice finally being able to see the fridge, we decided to go one step beyond just seeing it and decided to move it. The decision was practical: it could get hidden again, and if anyone were injured, they wouldn’t have to bend down to reach it (third embarrassing truth: light headed people are not dexterous people. A couple weeks ago I fell and landed on my knee, hard).

(While I was at the hospital, getting the knee looked at, I thought of a story where a guy hurts his knee while getting stalked by a killer. At last; a reason why the killer can catch up with his prey!)

Anyway, revision...

The revision thing has been going smoother since the moving of the fridge. Now that the thing is actually in sight, I’ve taken to sticking pictures onto the brilliantly white surface (not so embarrassing secret: the decor in the office is dark blue. That small white fridge really sticks out).

Currently there are only two pictures on it. What beautiful pictures, though. Every time I turn to grab something, they whisper stories to me.

Picture one: a clinch scene, drawn by someone who’s re imagining a couple Decepticons as human.

TFAH - Living Up to His Name by Pinkatron

Jen found it. When she first told me about it, I laughed. Now, it graces the fridge, tempting me to come up with a story for it. A temptation that, given my imagination, doesn’t need much prompting. A dark and sultry night. A passionate moment in an office, against a desk. Socks.

Okay, the socks have to go, but the rest?

*fights off plot bunny*

Picture two: the four really interesting looking guys of the apocalypse, steam punk style.

Steampunk Apocalypse by Shades of Earth

Jen also found this picture (I imagine she spends her lunch breaks at work surfing Deviant Art. She, meanwhile, imagines I spend my days fighting off plot bunnies). The moment that picture went up on the fridge, something in my mind clicked.

The guy in the far left. The guy beside him. They could be the guys in the other picture. They’re part of a group that fights evil. Or they are the bad guys, only the good guys are really incompetent and they end up being the ones who actually save the world. Yeah.

And they have sex. Lots of sex.

Jen came in then, carrying a case of soda water.

“What’re you staring at?” she asked.

“The pictures. They’re telling me a story.”

“Okay.” She proceeds to put the soda in the fridge. After living with me, she’s pretty used to me talking like that. “How’s Is It Done Yet?”

“Ummm... good.”

I break away from the pictures’ spell and return to the computer. Revision. Yes. I’m working on a revision.

Until the next time I turn and see the pics.