Blog Archives
Writing helped me process.
The Marigold Bridge follows a wealthy young woman whose life is turned upside down after her father is presumed dead and a dangerous family seizes control of her home. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The inspiration stemmed from the grief and trauma of losing a friend to suicide and my own mediumship abilities. I struggled for a long time and found myself in a really dark place. Writing helped me process. I have an article posted on Substack if anyone is interested in the full story. It can be a bit triggering to some.
At what point did you know this story would be rooted in El Día de los Muertos?
I wanted the story to center around the connection between the living and the dead. Western cultures do not have any holidays that celebrate relationships beyond the grave. So, I contacted my mentor and friend who lives in Mexico and asked if she would be willing to help me write a story centered around El Dia de los Muertos. It was important for me to get the culture, spanish, and holiday as accurate as possible. She agreed, and Araceli’s story began! I learned so much about Mexico too and can’t wait to take my third trip back there one day. Maybe even visit San Miguel during the Day of the Dead!
Araceli’s gift feels more like a responsibility than a superpower. Why was that important to you?
Because I too understand the weight of being born with a sixth sense that other people don’t seem to fully understand. It often felt like a burden and a responsibility
until I was able to accept it and learn how to work with it. I mirrored my own frustration in her as she grappled with her gifts.
Looking back, what did writing Araceli’s story teach you about courage, family, or healing?
I healed a lot through this novel. While Araceli grew, so did I. Her mantras were many of my own as I was writing. I also learned that healing can be messy and loud. It doesn’t carry a certain aesthetic and having people in your corner who understand that and allow you to be who you are is the real gift.
Author Links: Amazon | GoodReads
Forced into servitude for the man responsible, Araceli’s only hope lies in the gift she’d always considered a burden: channeling the ancestors during El Día de los Muertos. Desperate for answers, she attempts to use her abilities to discover the truth, but the ancestors offer only a frantic warning: “Don’t drink the water.”
Aided by her childhood crush, Araceli unearths a conspiracy that runs deeper than her father’s disappearance—one Hector will kill to keep buried. But as bodies begin to fall and Hector closes in, she must bridge the gap between life and death to restore her legacy and free San Miguel from corruption.
Steeped in revenge, ancestral magic, and love, The Marigold Bridge is a spellbinding tale where fortune favors the humble—and the dead refuse to stay silent.
Makanda
Makanda is a horror novel rooted in southern Illinois, where local legend, forensic investigation, cryptid folklore, and biological terror all feed into the same creeping nightmare. The story begins with Janice Redfield investigating mutilated bodies in Giant City State Park, then stretches back to 1973 to show how the area’s old fear of the Big Muddy Monster never really disappeared. By the time the book states, “Terror was on its way,” it’s not just setting a mood. It’s warning the reader that the past and present are about to overlap in a very bloody way.
What makes the book feel personal is how much time it spends with Janice and Frank Redfield. Their marriage is funny, affectionate, blunt, and lived-in, full of teasing, coffee, anxiety, sex jokes, hiking, hunting, and the kind of shorthand that only comes from deep love. Frank’s anxiety and Janice’s emotional exhaustion give the horror a human center, so the monster isn’t just something stalking the woods. It’s something pressing against the fragile comfort of their everyday life.
The creature itself is a mix of cryptid nightmare and biological experiment, and that combination gives the book its identity. The science around spores, hosts, cocoons, cytoplasm, and genetic recombination turns the local monster legend into something physical and evolutionary. At the same time, the story keeps the folklore texture alive through old memories, whispered fear, sightings, and people who know more than they want to say. When the book later says, “The hunt was on,” it lands because the monster has become more than a rumor. It has a target.
The novel is also graphic, and its violence is meant to be felt. Bodies are torn apart, heads are destroyed, and death is often described in close, messy detail. But the gore isn’t the only thing driving the story. The book keeps circling grief, abuse, racism, trauma, and the damage people carry after seeing something they can’t explain. Gladys and Jonas bring in the scientific curiosity, Janice and Frank bring the emotional weight, and the older townspeople bring the history that makes Makanda feel haunted before the monster ever steps into the light.
Makanda is a creature-horror novel with a strong sense of place and a lot of heart beneath the blood. It’s about the woods, the stories people tell about them, and the terrifying idea that legends might simply be misunderstood biology waiting for the right conditions to return. The book works best when it lets its characters talk, joke, worry, and love each other before the horror crashes in. That makes the final stretch hit harder because by then the reader isn’t only afraid of what’s in the trees. They’re afraid of what it can take from people who’ve become real.
Pages: 404 | ASIN : B0GY67TRWH
Anatomy of a Vampire: Part 2, Present Day
Anatomy of a Vampire: Part 2, Present Day, by John Matthias, is a paranormal science thriller that blends vampire mythology, virology, ancient history, and FBI investigation into one sprawling modern conspiracy. The story begins with a brutal attack in the Canadian wilderness that looks like a bear mauling but quickly points toward something stranger, especially once the deaths connect to scientists studying SAV, a mysterious adaptive virus. From there, the novel follows Ariel, an unusually long-lived science writer, FBI agent Josh Cummings, Monica, and the hidden Houses of Anu and Lilith as old secrets push their way into the present.
What I liked most was the book’s refusal to treat vampires as familiar creatures of cape, coffin, and cliché. Matthias builds his own mythology, tying “vampires” to ancient beings, bloodlines, viruses, portals, and rival houses with deep moral fractures. It’s a lot, but I found that ambition interesting because the novel isn’t just asking, “What if vampires were real?” It is asking what would happen if myth, disease, evolution, and human history were all tangled together in one long, hidden thread.
The writing has a direct, investigative quality that suits the thriller side of the story. The forensic details, lab discussions, and casework give the book a grounded feel, even when the plot moves into winged beings, ancient scrolls, and supernatural politics. I did feel at times that the explanations somewhat slowed the pace, especially when characters unpacked large pieces of lore through dialogue. Still, I appreciated the author’s patience with his own world. Matthias wants the reader to understand the machinery behind the mystery, not just watch shadows move in the dark. That choice gives the novel weight.
I would recommend Anatomy of a Vampire: Part 2, Present Day to readers who enjoy paranormal thrillers with a strong science fiction edge, especially those who like vampire fiction that rewrites the rules instead of repeating them. Fans of conspiracy-driven stories, ancient bloodline mysteries, secret societies, viral outbreak plots, and genre blends that move between crime procedural and dark fantasy will find a lot to dig into here. It’s best for readers who enjoy deep lore and don’t mind a dense, layered plot that takes its mythology seriously.
Pages: 330
Pages: 406 | ASIN: B0HGTQ3VL4
A Modern Theme
Zara’s Gothic follows a paramedic who, after a life-altering road accident, retreats to a secluded property where she lives in a handmade van beneath the shadow of an abandoned Victorian house. Where did the inspiration for this novel come from?
I have always wanted to write a gothic novel, being most inspired by Daphne DuMaurier’s Rebecca and The Beckoning Fair One by Oliver Onions. I was taken by the sight of an old, crumbling house, now in its last stages of collapse. It spoke to me. Maybe the story is a way to preserve the house’s memory.
What drew you to combining paramedic trauma with Gothic haunting?
Although I love the standard repertoire, I wanted a modern theme people could relate to. And, something different, something unique.
Zara’s inner world feels intensely sensory and unstable—how did you approach writing her perception?
It is said that there is a normal. I believe there are other ways of perception. Zara’s on the outside because she’s not like ‘normal’ people. The book is dedicated to Professor Elaine Aron, whose pioneering work on HSP, highly sensitive people, tells us that there is nothing wrong with ultra-sensitivity. It exists in humans and animals; it is not a mental disorder. No more of this “you’re just over-sensitive” rubbish.
If a reader remembers only one image from the novel, what should it be?
Oh, there are many. Without spoilers, it’s when Zara is hit with the reality that the immutable laws of physics no longer apply. Imagine how abjectly terrifying that would be!
Author Links: GoodReads | Website | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Amazon
Guilt ridden accident survivor Zara Wilander thinks she is taking on the renovation of a crumbling mansion. But instead, the house takes her on—Zara is progressively haunted. Or, is she simply losing her mind?
Flamboyant estate agent Jenner Reid believes this to be the case and encourages her to continue. But Reid has history with this house. When Zara learns his dark secret, and those of the old house, it may be much too late.
Mounting horror and astonishing word craft result in a masterpiece of the macabre, with all the elements of the classic romantic Gothic style. It is, however, refreshingly different. In the best traditions of The Beckoning Fair One and Rebecca, Zara’s Gothic will thrill your mind and chill your blood.
If you dare…
Walking a Tightrope
Crazy or Dead centers around a psychology PhD candidate whose life is forever changed when her parents die in a house fire that turns out to be something much more sinister. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I wanted to start with the kind of tragedy that does not just break your heart—it breaks your understanding of the world.
A house fire is already horrific. Losing both parents is devastating. But what if the facts do not line up? What if the official explanation feels too clean? What if grief is telling you one thing, evidence is whispering another, and everyone around you thinks you are falling apart?
That was the spark for Crazy or Dead.
I liked the idea of beginning with something painfully ordinary—a phone call, smoke, police lights, the awful shock of loss—and then slowly letting the floor drop away beneath Gabby. The story asks a question I find terrifying: when something impossible appears to be true, do you trust your mind, or do you trust the people telling you your mind is broken?
That tension pulled me in and would not let go.
Gabby is both a psychology researcher and someone whose grip on reality is constantly challenged. Why was she the right protagonist for this story?
Gabby was perfect because she knows just enough to doubt herself.
She studies the mind. She understands trauma, memory, perception, dissociation, grief—all the clinical explanations someone might use to explain away what is happening to her. That makes her smarter, but it also makes her more vulnerable. A person with no psychology background might simply say, “Something is wrong here.” Gabby says, “Something is wrong here… unless it is me.”
That is a much more dangerous place to live.
I wanted a protagonist who could analyze herself almost too well. She is not reckless in the usual thriller-hero way. She is thoughtful, wounded, stubborn, and scared—but she keeps moving. She is trying to solve a mystery while also trying to prove she can trust her own mind.
To me, that made her more interesting than a detective with a badge. Gabby does not walk into the story armed with authority. She walks in with grief, intelligence, doubt, and a desperate need to know the truth.
That is plenty.
Were there moments where you worried readers might figure out the truth too soon?
All the time.
With a psychological thriller, you are always walking a tightrope. Give the reader too little, and they feel cheated. Give them too much, and they are standing at the finish line waiting for you with a cup of coffee.
I wanted readers to suspect several things and be right about some of them—but not all of them. That is the sweet spot. A good twist should not come out of nowhere. It should feel impossible and inevitable at the same time. After the reveal, I want readers thinking, “I should have seen that,” not “Where the hell did that come from?”
So yes, I worried about it constantly. I moved clues around. I trimmed. I sharpened. I tried to make every suspicion lead somewhere, even if it was not the final answer.
The trick is not hiding everything. The trick is making the truth stand in the room wearing a disguise.
If readers remember one thing about Crazy or Dead, what do you hope it is?
I hope they remember Gabby.
The twists matter. The danger matters. The ending matters. But for me, the heart of the book is a woman who refuses to surrender her own truth, even when grief, fear, and other people are all telling her to sit down and be quiet.
I hope readers remember that feeling of not knowing whether Gabby is crazy, being hunted, or both. And I hope they remember that she keeps fighting anyway.
At its core, Crazy or Dead is about trust—trusting your mind, trusting your instincts, trusting the people beside you, and knowing when not to trust the story you are being handed.
Also, I would not complain if readers remember they missed sleep because they wanted one more chapter. Authors are humble people, but we’re not saints.
Author Links: GoodReads | Bluesky | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Website
Literary Titan Gold Book Award: Fiction
The Literary Titan Book Award honors books that exhibit exceptional storytelling and creativity. This award celebrates novelists who craft compelling narratives, create memorable characters, and weave stories that captivate readers. The recipients are writers who excel in their ability to blend imagination with literary skill, creating worlds that enchant and narratives that linger long after the final page is turned.
Award Recipients
Visit the Literary Titan Book Awards page to see award information.
Literary Titan Silver Book Award
Celebrating the brilliance of outstanding authors who have captivated us with their skillful prose, engaging narratives, and compelling real and imagined characters. We recognize books that stand out for their innovative storytelling and insightful exploration of truth and fiction. Join us in honoring the dedication and skill of these remarkable authors as we celebrate the diverse and rich worlds they’ve brought to life, whether through the realm of imagination or the lens of reality.
Award Recipients
Blame the Devil by Joe Colicchio
Visit the Literary Titan Book Awards page to see award information.
Crazy or Dead
Crazy or Dead, by Mike Slavin, is a psychological thriller with a paranormal edge, built around Gabby Flowers, a psychology PhD candidate whose life is blown apart when her parents die in a house fire that turns out to be something much darker. Gabby is smart, grieving, sarcastic, and stubborn in ways that make her feel alive on the page. The story starts with loss, then quickly pulls her into séances, missing evidence, fake memories, suspicious strangers, and a growing fear that someone is trying to make her doubt her own mind.
What makes the book work is how tightly it stays inside Gabby’s experience. She’s trained to think like a scientist, so when impossible things happen, she doesn’t simply accept them. She questions herself, tests what she can, and keeps trying to separate trauma from truth. That tension gives the story its engine. When she says, “Nothing about my life feels normal anymore,” it lands because the reader has been right there with her, watching normal disappear one strange event at a time.
The cast around Gabby keeps the pressure high. Detective Sam Stone brings steadiness and warmth, while Ron, Natalie, Antoine, O’Brien, Anna, and Colt all add new layers of uncertainty. The book is especially strong when Gabby doesn’t know who to trust, because the threats aren’t only physical. They’re emotional and psychological, too. The plot keeps circling one brutal question: is Gabby seeing what’s real, or is someone carefully building a cage around her mind?
Slavin gives the story a conversational, fast-moving voice, and Gabby’s humor helps keep the heavier material from becoming too grim. She can be scared, furious, wounded, and funny within the same scene, which makes her easy to follow through some wild turns. The title pays off in a satisfying way near the end, with a line that captures the real heartbeat of the book.
Crazy or Dead is about survival, identity, and the fight to stay grounded when other people benefit from your confusion. It mixes murder mystery, psychological manipulation, family secrets, romance, and a hint of the supernatural into a story that’s bold and personal. Gabby’s journey from grief to defiance gives the book its emotional pull, and the final turn leaves the door open for more trouble in a way that feels fitting for her new, not-so-normal life.
