Just got the word: my short story “Tendrils Never Lie” was accepted into the first annual anthology for The Horror Society, “a community of authors, artists, screen writers, filmmakers, actors, editors, publishers, and musicians who work and contribute to the universe of Horror.”
The anthology should be published in ebook and in print in the coming months, so I’ll provide more details as I get them. Looks like it’s going to be a very cool book!
5.0 out of 5 stars: “One to watch” June 22, 2013
By L. Reuther (REAL NAME)
This review is from: The Matriarch (Paperback)
Kevin A Ranson beautifully blends the boundaries of vampires and ghosts. This story of revenge takes place in the real world with a straightforward insight on stakes, sunlight and soil. Kevin creates characters with believable motives who show that vampires, just like mortals, must ultimately chose their own path in life, and decide whether it will be a blessing or a cure. Either way, these are creatures with an impact on their ecosystem. They have been present in every human civilization, and deserve to be studied both historically and scientifically. Kevin’s cars, Kias and Escalades, add an element of fun. He has written a well-balanced story with elements of action, humor, and humanity.
Meet Spooky, a dead little boy continuing to grow up. He goes to school, likes taking pictures in cemeteries, and doesn’t breathe. Accidentally starting the zombie apocalypse is his biggest fear, but it’s not his biggest problem.
The Spooky Chronicles is a paranormal mystery horror book series about a child who comes back to life as a zombie but is still getting older. Having already overcome personal tragedy in his life, his unique condition makes him aware of (and draws him into) a secret, paranormal underworld he never asked to be a part of (but still thinks is pretty cool).
5.0 out of 5 stars: “I want more.” May 21, 2013
By windigo98
This review is from: The Matriarch (Paperback)
Like usual when I find a book I want to read and enjoyed, I want more. The story was engaging. I couldnt put it down! Great character building. Good reasearch, background, and forshadowing. Loved what was done with the villian and humor. It leaves me wanting more. Pick it up now you can be like me waiting for the author to put out his next book!
I use music – often an entire playlist – to create a mindset and mood when I construct a scene.
At the beginning of the story, the main character is angling to fix or finish an on-again, off-again romance. When I first heard “Come Along” by Vicci Martinez and Cee Lo Green, it immediately struck me as a seduction, someone taking the lead and yearning to move past whatever the roadblock is in their relationship, all without assigning blame.
Come along now, come along and you’ll see
What it’s like to be free
Come along now, come along with me
And I’ll ease your pain
Come along, come along with me
And lets seize this day
Oh, come along with me
It has a hopeful, eclectic, sexy yet laid back sound with a bit of a country twang. I didn’t own this song when I originally wrote the chapter I’ve paired it up with, but I did have it while editing.
I use music – often an entire playlist – to create a mindset and mood when I construct a scene.
The boyfriend/best friend often pops up in stories where the female main character is struggling and may need support. Sometimes they step up and sometimes they drop the ball, but the most they can hope for is to help in only a small way because, frankly, it isn’t their story. That said:
I know your life is empty
And you hate to face this world alone
So you’re searching for an angel
Someone who can make you whole
I can not save you
I can’t even save myself
So just save yourself
Stabbing Westward’s “Save Yourself” is a great step-up-and-believe-in-yourself anthem because help isn’t coming. Is it ironic that this is my supporting character’s favorite song or am I just being cruel?
I use music – often an entire playlist – to create a mindset and mood when I construct a scene.
The opening chapter to The Matriarch was actually one of the last I wrote into the first draft. “Fly On the Wall” by Thousand Foot Krutch was what I was thinking of as I wrote about a solitary old man who took it upon himself to do the only thing he still could: exactly what he was told.
If I could just see it all, Just like a fly on the wall
Would I be able to accept what I can’t control?
And would I share what I saw? Or just sit back and ignore
Like nothing never happened, I haven’t seen you before?
To me, the song suggests a struggle between standing against something wrong or living with the regret of deciding to do nothing about it. How would you feel knowing something terrible happened because you didn’t act? And before anyone points it out, yes, that’s Spider-Man’s back story and not Batman’s, and no, you don’t get to become a superhero as a result.
First printing of The Matriarch books arrive.
Supernatural horror thriller, mature content.
A present-day college student becomes the target of an immortal, a killer linked to a century-old ghost story.
279 print pages. Published April 2013. ISBN: 9780615803449
Availability: Kindle – $3.99 and Paperback – $12.95
Vampires don’t believe in ghosts.
Every October, the freshmen at Glenville State College are told stories about Sis Linn, the local ghost who haunts Clark Hall and the graveyard where she’s buried. Murdered in 1919, she was beaten beyond recognition, the target of a brutal killer who was never caught.
Present-day student Janiss Connelly is about to find out that the stories are wrong – and that there are greater things to fear in life and in death than ghosts.
Read more about The Matriarch…
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Kevin A. Ranson 