Writer and Editor C.B. Calsing/ G.G. Royale

Kristi DeMeester’s “Dark Sisters” is a horror tale that addresses the relationship between women’s power and their duality. Themes of oppression and exploitation are explored through a traditional horror lens. Camilla is the daughter of a very wealthy, very elite preacher who basically runs a cultlike country club. Women who don’t quite fit in are sent to “Retreat:” drugs, spa treatments, and prayer. As Camilla comes of age and plans to finally attend her Purity Ball, a mysterious illness attacks her mother.  Through two other narratives, one at the founding of the cult and the other set in the 1950s, the reader uncovers the curse plaguing Camilla’s family and community and comes to realize the real threat to the women living there. This was a great horror novel. I enjoyed the three-fold narration which didn’t uncover too much too quickly. The primitive lifestyle of the founders and the overly posh women in the future narratives offers a glaring juxtaposition which helps build the ...

It has been a very long time since I had the chance to post some good news about my own writing. The last few years, between moving back to California from Hawaii in 2022 and then moving two more times since then, have left me moderately exhausted and a little uninspired. While we have settled on an amazing property in the Sierra Nevada, it has taken a lot of work to get it livable.  Finally, though, we are at a place where I can take time again to sit and create. I’ve carved out a little office in the laundry room, which is great in the winter because the dryer keeps me warm.  A few weeks ago, stricken with inspiration, I sat down and pounded out a holiday romance novella in about two weeks. Howliday Homecoming was one of the quickest pieces of this length I have ever written, and it felt like I could get back to the work of writing without much struggle—a huge relief, really, after such a long hiatus.  I hope you can check my fun read this holiday season. Expect more st...

Megan Mary's "The Dream Dimensions: A Metaphysical Mystery of Magick" is a satisfying conclusion to the Witches of Maple Hollow trilogy.  Hannah has faced challenges before, but in this final installment, she must prevent the demise of someone in Maple Hollow. Over the course of seven days, she solves various riddles and navigates Maple Hollow through the countdown to Halloween. In addition, a mysterious stranger seems to be popping up all over town.  Like the two previous books in the series, I loved the fall-themed setting and details, like the food and costumes described. The mystery element, along with the riddles, is fun and easy to follow. In addition, having a female-centric cast with no love story is refreshing for younger readers.  While I started off reading the text-version of the novel, I immediately switched to the audiobook as soon as it was available. Pearl Hewitt is delightful as the narrator, and her voice is part of the reason I enjoyed the first two boo...

Anbara Salam’s “The Salvage” is a cold but cozy horror novel set on a small Scottish island in the 1960s.  Marta Khoury is a Syrian-Scottish marine archaeologist in a decade where most of those positions are taken by men. When she arrives on Cairnroch to survey the wreck of a Victorian whaling ship that has recently been repatriated to local waters, everyone expects her to be a man. She generally shrugs this off and goes about her job, diving into the icy water to catalog what remains on the ship. Between dives, however, many of the priceless relics of Auld James, celebrated native son and captain, go missing. Marta must find the pieces to save her career and, she thinks, the island. This task is muddled by several factors: the Cold War, the death of a friend, her pending divorce from her boss, an intense winter, and (maybe) a ghost.  Marta is an unreliable narrator, full of contradictions. She is insecure in her relationships but confident in her work. She is a scientist trai...

What do I love best about T. Kingfisher? One, she retells fairy tales. Sure, a lot of people do that, but not in same way she does. She doesn't just "fracture" them or tell the story from a different perspective of a character you already know. She takes the kernel of the story and goes off in an entirely new direction with it.  Take "Hemlock and Silver," for instance. From the title, you'd have no idea it was inspired by Snow White. There is, in fact, a character named Snow and another named Rose, and a mirror is definitely involved, and maybe there is a reference to a heart getting cut out. None of these tropes, however, appear in the way the reader expects. The story is told from a fresh, new perspective as well. Anja is a poisons expert who is called in by the king to diagnosis and hopefully cure what ails his daughter, Snow. I love that the main character is a woman who has spent her life perusing a passion rather than a man. She maybe thinks love is of...

Did we all have one of those best friends? The kind that captivated us when we were young, but slowly the veil was lifted and reality set in. Then, years later, you reunite. Is the new dynamic just growing up or…something else?  In Nicky Gonzalez’s “Mayra,” the narrator, Ingrid, is invited to a mysterious house in the Florida Everglades to reunite with her best friend from school, the titular character. They’ve drifted apart over the years, each blaming the other for changing. Reunited by Mayra’s boyfriend, Benji, the two women alternately bond and fight about the past and how they’ve changed. Slowly, Ingrid realizes there is something else going on in the house, not just their shifting relationship dynamics. Why is this strange window in this room? How come Ingrid seems to get turned around so easily in the surrounding swamp? Why is Benji doing THAT? The mysteries compound until Ingrid learns a terrible truth.  I would peg this is a great horror beach read. It’s gripping and ...