Publisher: Amazon (August 31, 2019) Category: Horror, Mystery/Thriller, Supernatural Tour dates: Oct-Nov, 2020 ISBN: 978-1670514585 Available in Print and ebook, 209 pages
Description Feast by David Vorhees
A collection of short stories that take place on different holidays over the course of the year. The collection opens with “A New Year, a New Day, a New Life.” Grant Curtis is arrested on New Year’s Day and charged with the murder of his wife Carla. In “Easter: The Resurrection,” a resurrected Kyle Gardner seeks vengeance on Pastor Brian.
“The Vengeance of Cassidy Clay” is a narrative poem that takes place on Halloween. The poem tells the story of a slave-hunter who haunts the woods long after his death and many more spine chilling tales.
Praise for Feast by David Vorhees
“Vorhees does a nice job of keeping a “theme” throughout (even as the stories change from tale to tale. This felt like one cohesive set of stories instead of a bunch of random ones thrown into a book. The character building and storytelling were good and I thought that Vorhees was able to write short stories that felt realistic and new while also feeling “familiar”. What I mean by this is that they still feel like original stories but they don’t feel like brand new ideas. Just like some of the best horror films play on the same topics and plots – these stories benefit from good horror tropes. If you’re a horror fan and a fan of horror short stories there’s bound to be something in this collection that’ll suit you. I enjoyed it from beginning to end and I’m glad that I had a chance to check it out.”-Brian’s Book Blog
“Most of the tales are deeply disturbing and be warned: you won’t be able to unsee them. This is a nod to the effectiveness of the author’s storytelling ability and gift for description.”-Kristine, Hall Ways Blog
“I thought each story was unique; I like the author’s writing style. I would recommend this to readers of dark fiction, if you like a little gore with your horror, and a realism that makes it stick with you after you are done. I could see giving this as a gift.”- Sarah, Quackzombie
“Mind-bending and wildly entertaining! I was hooked after the first story, and it just got better after that. The themed horror stories for each separate holiday was a new concept for me, making each story that much more riveting. The characters and scenes are well thought out and eerily relatable, which allows you to become immersed in the story. This collection of stories is a definite must read!”-Lyn Savage, Amazon
Excerpt from Feast by David Vorhees
He noticed a tiny piece of paper wrapped around one end of the long round object in the plastic egg. The item was completely wrapped in a paper towel and was wet with a red pasty substance on one end that reminded him of ketchup. As he unwound the paper towel, he stopped talking. All breath had left him. He couldn’t make a sound if he could think of something to say. He felt as if his body and brain were shutting down as he looked down at the amputated finger that was housed in the tiny plastic egg.
After a brief moment of staring silently at the finger, he began to recognize to whom it belonged. He saw the pastel blue polish on the nail and the large diamond carat engagement ring that was entwined with a white gold wedding band. He remembered the day it was put on the woman’s finger, because he served as the officiant of her wedding. He also saw this ring every day, seeing as she worked for the church as its secretary. His secretary – Stephanie Williams. This finger belonged to her, and he then remembered that she and her family were not at service today.
God, he thought. What is going on? He unfurled the piece of paper and read the note inscribed on it:
,I’m sure you saw the finger and deduced who it belonged to. Tell no one, no cops, or I will kill the whole family. But it is Easter and Easter egg hunts were my favorite when I was young, so let’s have a hunt shall we? I have placed 6 eggs all over the town, each with a clue and a surprise inside. Find the eggs, decipher the clues and find me by 5 p.m. tonight if you want the family to live. I believe that should give you about 8 hours. Good Luck.
About David Vorhees
David Vorhees joined the U.S. Navy after graduating Lima Central Catholic. Following his military service, he attended the University of Northwestern Ohio for Automotive business. He worked various factory jobs and attended the University of Phoenix online for a degree in arts with a focus in journalism. He recently worked for the Wapakoneta Daily News as a reporter/photographer/paginator.
He is the father of five and grandfather of five. He has always been interested in the occult and the scarier side of life. He loves history and the supernatural and truly believes there is nothing better than a good story.
This giveaway is for1 print copy each for 2 winners and is open worldwide. This giveaway ends November 26, 2020,midnight pacific time. Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.
Publisher: She Writes Press (October 20, 2020) Category: Women’s Psychological Fiction, Medical Fiction Tour Dates Oct 20-Nov 25, 2020 ISBN: 978-1631527739 Available in Print and ebook,256 pages
Description Other Fires: Novel by Lenore H. Gay
Joss and Phil’s already rocky marriage is fragmented when Phil is injured in a devastating fire and diagnosed with Capgras delusion―a misidentification syndrome in which a person becomes convinced that a loved one has been replaced by an identical imposter. Faced with a husband who no longer recognizes her, Joss struggles to find motivation to save their marriage, even as family secrets start to emerge that challenge everything she thought she knew.
With two young daughters, a looming book deadline, and an attractive but complicated distraction named Adam complicating her situation even further, Joss has to decide what she wants for her family―and what family even means.
Praise Other Fires: Novel by Lenore H. Gay
“Once again, Lenore Gay has woven a story that captivates the reader from page one. Other Fires is a brilliant study of tragedy on multiples levels. Beginning with a dysfunctional family struggling in the aftermath of a terrible fire, she expertly peels back the layers of human behavior and motivation that unravels the lives of the guilty and innocent. Peppered with surprising twists and turns, the story will stay with you long after you close the cover.”―PAM WEBBER, author of The Wiregrass and Moon Water
“Heartwarming and dramatic, the two major intertwining stories in Other Fires reach across decades from troubled childhood to mid-life adults and reaffirm what remains human and vulnerable in all of us. The portraits of the main characters arc from hopelessness to vulnerability and a sense of recovery. Gay holds the reader’s attention from the first page.”―DIANA Y. PAUL, author of Things Unsaid
“How do people figure out their minds? This novel explores what constitutes reality, and from whose perspective. Drawing on her varied experiences in life and background in rehabilitation and mental health counseling, Lenore Gay weaves together the perspectives of compelling characters who interact in ways that keep the pages of this novel turning.”―CHRIS REID, PhD, Rehabilitation Psychology
Excerpt Other Fires: Novel by Lenore H. Gay
Acrid smoke burned Terpe’s nose and stung her eyes, jerking her awake. On the first and second floors of the house, smoke alarms shrieked. Her backyard was filled with thick smoke.
She ran downstairs and jumped on her parents’ bed. “Fire! Get up! Get up!”
Mom sat up, dazed. “The baby! Get the baby!”
Terpe ran across the hall to Geline’s room, scooped her out of the crib, and grabbed a blanket. When she turned, she remembered Dad was sleeping upstairs. Holding the baby tight to her chest, she took the stairs as fast as she could. The den door stood open. Mom stood by the pullout bed, yelling at Dad and shaking his arm. “For God’s sake, Phil, can’t you hear the alarms going off?”
“Okay, okay,” he mumbled.
Mom screamed, “Phil, the house is burning! It’s burning!”
His feet hit the floor.
Her parents stumbled into the hall. “Goddamn! Goddamn!” he yelled.
With the baby cradled in one arm and her free hand tight on the railing, Terpe hurried down, heading straight for the front door, Mom coming close behind.
Dad stood at the top of the steps.
Terpe turned to look at him.
Cracking sounds as two boards hit him and slammed to the floor. He shouted, swayed, grabbed the banister, and crept down slowly. He let out one long scream that didn’t stop when he hit the bottom step.
A terrible smell of burning hair.
Mom threw her bathrobe over his head, grabbed a scatter rug, and dropped it next to his body. “I have to roll him!”
With Geline on her hip, Terpe grabbed the hall phone and dialed 911. She repeated their address.
Mom patted his head to put out the flames. “Terpe, run! No, help me! No, take the baby and run!”
Terpe froze by the open door when a rush of fresh air hit her. She bolted down the front steps, threw down a blanket, put the screaming baby on it, and ran back inside. Mom wrestled with Dad’s body, pulling and tugging. But Dad stood at six foot two and probably weighed over two hundred pounds.
“Take his head. I got his feet,” Terpe yelled. They dragged him onto the front porch. “I’ll get water. His hair stinks. It’s still burning.”
“No! I put it out. Where’s the baby? She’s crying. Where’s the baby?”
Terpe ran into the yard, scooped up her sister, and yelled, “She’s fine. I put her down to help you.” She rubbed Geline’s back, but the baby kept crying. Terpe walked in tight circles, trying to sing and calm her, but soon sirens drowned out her singing. Red lights flashed in the driveway; two fire trucks followed by an ambulance.
Mom swung her arm and yelled, “Over here. Here!”
While firemen pulled hoses, two people rushed out of the ambulance and ran toward her parents. They loaded Dad on a stretcher and rolled it into the back of the ambulance. Mom jumped in behind him and shouted, “Get help at the O’Tooles’!”
Terpe nodded. Her mind jumped to their new roof. Maybe burning tree branches spread sparks onto the roof? She rushed to a man holding a hose. “What are those shingles in the back made of?”
Over the roar of water, the man waved her back. Her head throbbed, and she moved the baby farther from the smoke. She sat by Geline and watched her house burn. Flames shot out of the back of the house. Finally, at eight, she’d had an upstairs bedroom. Now it was gone.
A silhouette came across the yard. The familiar voice of their next-door neighbor, Mrs. O’Toole, rushing toward her.
Neighbors gathered in the street, watching the monster gobble everything.
One man shouted, “Who’s in the ambulance? Who’s hurt?”
“Boards fell on Dad. He got burned, too. Mom went with him to the hospital.”
Mrs. O’Toole asked, “What happened?”
“I don’t know. It happened fast.”
Mrs. O’Toole said, “Let me get my purse and go to an all-night and get milk for the baby. You and Geline will stay at our house tonight.” Without waiting for an answer, Mrs. O’Toole crossed the yard. A few minutes later she drove off.
No more fire, but with the smoky air and the back and top of her house burned away, it felt like something happening in another place, like on a TV show. Terpe tried to talk to a fireman, who said in a mean voice that some detectives would come soon, maybe tomorrow. He asked if she had a place to stay. She told him she’d go to the next-door neighbors.
She walked around the yard, clutching the baby, who wouldn’t stop squirming and crying. A neighbor from down the street asked if she wanted to stay at his house; he handed her a business card. She thanked him. After the man walked away, she cried. The man often jogged by her house, but they didn’t know each other. From now on she’d wave to him. No one had ever given her a business card; almost nine and only a third grader.
Car lights swooped across the yard. Terpe grabbed the blanket off the grass and followed Mrs. O’Toole into their house. Their house had a similar floor plan, but they had way different old-fashioned furniture. Mrs. O’Toole emptied three shopping bags on the kitchen counter. “Here, the baby essentials.”
Besides food, sleep, and air, Terpe wondered what else could be essential.
About Lenore H. Gay
(c) Sasha Gay-Overstreet
Lenore Gay is a retired Licensed Professional Counselor with a master’s in sociology and rehabilitation counseling. She was an adjunct faculty at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Rehabilitation Counseling Department for thirty years. She has worked in several agencies and psychiatric hospitals, and for ten years worked at her private counseling practice before becoming Coordinator of VCU’s Rehabilitation Counseling Department internship program.
Her debut novel, Shelter of Leaves, was a finalist for the Foreword Book of the Year award and a finalist for an INDEFAB award. For three years, Lenore has served on the Steering Committee of the RVALitCrawl, which has been featured in RVAMag, Richmond Family Magazine, and Richmond Magazine. She is an active member of James River Writers. She lives in Richmond, Virginia.
This giveaway is for 1 copy each for 3 winners and is open to the U.S. only. This giveaway ends November 26, 2020,midnight pacific time. Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.
Publisher: Sunbury Press, February 2019 Category: Memoir, History, Military, WWII, and Biography Tour Dates June and July, 2020 ISBN: 978-1620061145 Available in Print and ebook, 284 pages
Description Keeping the Lights On for Ike by Rebecca Daniels
Daily Life of a Utilities Engineer at AFHQ in Europe During WWII; or, What to Say in Letters Home When You’re Not Allowed to Write about the War
Most people don’t realize that during the war in Europe in the 1940s, it took an average of six support soldiers to make the work of four combat soldiers possible. Most of what’s available in the literature tends toward combat narratives, and yet the support soldiers had complex and unique experiences as well. This book is based on personal correspondence, and it is primarily a memoir that creates a picture of the day-to-day realities of an individual soldier told in his own words [as much as he could tell under the wartime rules of censorship, that is] as well as giving insight into what it was actually like to be an American soldier during WWII.
It explores the experiences of a non-combat Army utilities engineer working in a combat zone during the war in Europe and takes the protagonist from basic training through various overseas assignments—in this case to England, North Africa, and Italy as a support soldier under Eisenhower and his successors at Allied Force Headquarters. It also includes some reflections about his life after returning to Oregon when the war was over.
The soldier involved is Captain Harold Alec Daniels [OSU, Class of 1939, ROTC] and most of the letters were written to his wife, Mary Daniels [attended U of O in the late 1930s]. They are the author’s parents, and she inherited the letter collection, photos, and all other primary source materials after her mother’s death in 2006.
Praise Keeping the Lights On for Ike by Rebecca Daniels
“The book moves swiftly along, while at the same time capturing the frustration of their prolonged separation. The historical timeline provides just the right bit of historical context to these war years behind at the tail of the army. This is not the typical WWII combat book.”- The Montague Reporter
“The lack of military detail — the focus on everyday life and on the relationship between Alec and Mary — ends up being one of the book’s greatest assets. Many works of history detail the story of great battles. Fewer dwell on individual wartime experiences. The book is also strengthened by the affection expressed in Alec’s relatively inarticulate yet moving letters to his wife on the home front.”- Tinky Weisblat, Greenfield Recorder, author of “The Pudding Hollow Cookbook,” “Pulling Taffy,” and “Love, Laughter, and Rhubarb”
“Carefully researched history and a beautiful remembrance of one soldier’s letters home. A poignant and personal look into the lives of two very private people and an extraordinary first hand example of why it’s called the Greatest Generation. In detail and in truly first class research one is left with the sense that they know these two people very well. Not only is this a well written historical account of World War II, it is a touching and gentle love story from a remarkable author with a most deft touch and turn. Got five stars from me. So worth it.”-W. Richards, Amazon
“This book made me feel almost like I was right there with Alec and Mary as they experienced that time of their lives. My parents, being the same age, also had a similar experience and I thought of them as I read every word. The author cleverly brought to life their story and for that I shall be forever grateful.”- Sunbury Press Reader Review
Excerpt Keeping the Lights On for Ike by Rebecca Daniels
An officer, possibly Lt. Col. W.E. Northrop (one of Alec’s “bosses”), with two members of the 149th Post Headquarters Company of WAACs in Algiers.
Excerpt from Chapter 7: Settling Into Algiers (January—April 1943)
At this point in January, it’s clear he had received more letters from her and that she had been complaining about a gender double standard, possibly in relation to the fact that women were not permitted to serve in the military at that time, so she was forbidden to join up to be near him:
What you say about the double standard is quite true. In fact, too true. It is a shame the people have to consider that women must be different from men. It must be an inheritance we have from the Arabs. For even the Arab women think women are nothing and are disgusted when they have girl children. The Arab women have no rights at all, are purchased as wives and told to scram when the man wants a divorce. The Arabs also have more than one wife if they can afford it. That has its good points and its bad ones. At times, why more than one wife might be enjoyable, as I do like women, but if I had more than one wife there would be something lacking between me and my wives. You see, just by my being your hub alone and you being my wif (his pet name for her) alone there is a close relationship that exists between us and I wouldn’t want to change it for all the queens in the world, and there are some beauties here as I have seen when going through the town. There seem to be more beautiful women here than there were in England. I don’t imagine I will be meeting any, though, as I have very little spare time in the day and every place closes after 7:30 at night. Then, too, there is the difference between the languages. (January 8, 1943)
Early in the war, many men, including members of Congress, the press, and the military establishment, had joked about the notion of women serving in the military, but as America increasingly recognized the demands of conducting a war on two fronts—Japan and Germany—leaders also faced an acute manpower shortage. So, in May 1942, the House and the Senate approved a bill creating the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). At first, though the women who joined considered themselves in the Army, technically they were civilians working with the Army. By spring of 1943, however, 60,000 women had volunteered, and finally, in July 1943, a new congressional bill transformed the WAAC into the Women’s Army Corps (WAC), giving the women true military status.[i] In late January, Alec wrote:
The WAACs have taken over here now and things are in a hubbub to get them fixed up. They seem to be a very conscientious bunch and very much enthusiastic about the work, and also a little acclimated to Army life. I understand some of them can and do swear as bad as any of the soldiers, but that’s only the minority. As for any getting jealous, it’s not necessary as they are by far a homely bunch and I never have enough spare time to do any chasing, which I don’t care about doing anyway. All I want to do with my spare time is sleep and possibly go to a movie. (January 31, 1943)
In a special history of the Women’s Army Corps, published by the Army’s Center of Military History, the group of women Alec described in January of 1943, was identified as a unique unit:
The 149th WAAC Post Headquarters Company, called by newspapers “the first American women’s expeditionary force in history,” was one of the most highly qualified WAAC groups ever to reach the field. Hand-picked and all-volunteer, almost all members were linguists as well as qualified specialists, and almost all eligible for officer candidate school. The company was shipped from the United States on a regular military transport, which encountered no enemy action. …
The unit reported on 27 January 1943 to General Eisenhower’s headquarters in Algiers, a location now considered safe, except for air attack, from the conflict still raging to the east. …Working hours were long; women were carried in trucks to the headquarters at an early hour, and home again for an early curfew. The nightly bombings, with brilliant displays of antiaircraft fire, made sleep difficult for the first weeks.
Nevertheless, most women managed a satisfactory adjustment. … Morale was high, and women called themselves the luckiest in the Corps. …
The largest part of the company went to the Signal Corps and to the newly organized Central Postal Directory. Others were assigned, by twos and threes, to various headquarters offices: three to the Office of Psychological Warfare; three to the adjutant general’s office; one as General Eisenhower’s secretary and one as his driver; more than a half dozen to drive other officers. Ten more were assigned as cooks and bakers to keep food ready for workers on three shifts.[ii]
Alec having lunch with two of the WAACs at AFHQ.
Based on Alec’s reaction to things Mary said in her letters, it seemed that she might have been thinking of becoming a WAAC in hopes of being closer to him. He tried to dissuade her, but not because he disapproved of women in the military:
You have hinted so much about the WAACs that I must say it would probably be interesting to you if you could get to travel, but you would never get to see me, as that is forbidden. So make up your own mind, as I am quite a ways away to do it for you. Many of the soldiers don’t seem to like the fact that the WACs are over here. What I think is it is jealousness in finding that women can get into a war as well as men. I think lots of the soldiers feel that they are protecting their women and so want them to stay where they are safe. Personally I think it is a good idea to have them here, as they are just suited to some of the work that must be done. Anyway I think a woman’s place is where she wants to be, not where someone puts her because of her sex. (undated, probably mid-March 1943)
This was an unusual point of view for a man of his time. In fact, a reporter in Washington, DC, printed the protest of a soldier to his girl, who wanted to join the Women’s Army Corps: “‘I won’t have a girl of mine called a WAC.’ When the girl defended the [idea] the soldier said firmly: ‘All right, you can be a WAC, but you won’t be mine.’”[iii] ________________________________________________________________________
[i] Women in the Army online, “Creation of the Women’s Army Corps,” accessed October 17, 2016, https://www.army.mil/women/history/wac.html. [ii] Mattie E. Treadwell, The Women’s Army Corps. Center of Military History US Army, Washington, DC, 1954: 381. [iii] Richard R. Lingeman Don’t You Know There’s a War On? The American Home Front 1941-1945. G.P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, 1970: 161.
About Rebecca Daniels
Rebecca Daniels has been a university professor for many years who has also simultaneously had a vital creative career in the theatre. Throughout her career, her work has always been a mix of performance, teaching, and her own writing.
Her groundbreaking book on women directors and the effects of gender on their work is currently still in print [Women Stage Directors Speak: Exploring the Effects of Gender on Their Work, McFarland, 1996], and she has been published in several theatre-related professional journals over the years as well. After her retirement in the summer of 2015, she was finally able to focus all her energies on this book.
Giveaway Keeping the Lights On for Ike by Rebecca Daniels
This giveaway is for 1 print copy open to Canada and the U.S. only. There are also 2 pdf copies open worldwide. There will be 3 winners. This giveaway ends August 1, 2020,midnight pacific time. Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.
Feast: Other Horrifying Tales by David Vorhees
