I’m a big fan of the horror genre, though I’m so jaded now that it’s hard for a movie to creep me out or startle a jump from me any more. I’m fascinated by the psychological twistedness of killers, like a car accident I can’t look away from. I’m sure this fascination with serial killers is tied up with the idea of mortality, the inexorable approach of death for all of us, and other psychological stuff I don’t care to try to untangle. Long story short, of course I had to watch the Psycho based series Bates Motel, now in its third season.

After some missteps IMO in the second season, it continues to get better and more involving. Vera Farmiga as Norma and Freddie Highmore as Norman are stellar. The little homages to the original movie are fun; certain lines or images will pop up randomly, reminding the viewer of how this is all going to end. The present day setting has a retro vibe inside the Bates house, mostly due to Norma’s wardrobe and the furnishings, which seems disorienting during the first few episodes (are we in present day or the sixties?) but actually works perfectly.

You might think, why watch a prequel to something we all know the end to. Answer. Because it’s a wild, fun ride these characters take you on, and because the world the writers have created is just so cool. I highly recommend it.

Summer Devon has a book out May 5^th – a contemporary m/m shapeshifter story, the third in the series, though each story is stand alone.

 Releasing the Shifter

Solitary Shifters, Book 3

 To save his love he must face his monster and—worse—be nice to people.

Montag is a monster. He doesn’t know what sort of creature he would turn into if he ever let himself shift, but he knows it’s something predatory and lethal. He fights back the urge to shift every day of his life, and has never dared get close to anyone—not that they want him to. He can literally smell their fear.

 Kevin’s not scared of monsters. He works for the SSU, the agency in charge of tracking shifters—particularly the dangerous ones. When he and his young niece are kidnapped by her scum-bucket dad, he’s grateful to be rescued by Montag, whose curmudgeonly defenses can’t hide the kind man beneath.

 As they work together to protect Kevin’s niece, attraction sizzles between them. But their relationship may not survive if Montag learns who writes Kevin’s paycheck—or if Montag dares to confront the inner monster he hates and fears.

Warnings

Contains a grouchy virgin shifter (and we mean virginal in all possible ways), a hero with a back pocket full of secrets, and a couple of jerks.

Here is a link to the story: https://www.samhainpublishing.com/book/5419/releasing-the-shifter

So, this weekend I caught up on an HBO show I’d missed, True Detective. Talk about somber and depressing. Like so many of the darker shows I perversely enjoy, the cinematography is  beautiful in its starkness. Other cases in point: Hannibal, Penny Dreadful, The Killing (in which it never stops raining), and the merciless sun and isolating open spaces in Breaking Bad–just as effective as gloom and clouds.

Setting a mood in writing is tricky. I don’t want to bore the reader with too many details or paint in broad, cliche brushstrokes. Somewhere in the middle is the sweet spot, providing just enough in-the-moment sensory description to make the reader feel there, to not only see, but experience the place.

Summer and I were happy to have several critics point out that The Bohemian and the Banker was like taking a little Parisian vacation. The Paris we all imagine and probably nothing like the actual city was at the turn of the century. But hey, we sent our readers someplace and that’s good to hear.

Currently I’m enjoying the rainy, gray spring weather outside as it’s perfectly setting my mood to work on a gothic romance. The Tutor is kind of like Jane Eyre meets the Sound of Music, the Secret Garden, and every “true hauntings” show I’ve watched on TV.  A young man, passing himself off as a tutor with forged credentials, travels to teach twin boys at an isolated estate. The kids are odd. The master of the house is  moody. The servants are all a little off and the house itself oozes an aura of menace. Good times!

I really love spooky stuff, was weaned on Stephen King, and hated that the ghost of the week in Scooby Do was always some dude in a costume. I’m having  a ball working on this story and hope I can really pull off the creepy atmosphere. Readers can expect it….sometime. Hey, maybe in time for Halloween. That would be cool.

I’ve decided to invite guest writers to my blog on Fridays, beginning today with the amazing Zoe York…

LOVE IN A SMALL TOWN

Six years. Two break-ups. One divorce.
They should be over each other…

Police officer and army reservist Rafe Minelli knows better than to tell his wife no, particularly since they aren’t married anymore. She can’t hightail it out of town, though, not when they’ve finally broken through the post-divorce cold war status quo.

Olivia Minelli needs to leave Pine Harbour. It’s just too hard to see Rafe moving on without her—even if he says he doesn’t want to. But when a new and exciting job falls into her lap, she needs to choose: protect her heart, or take the new job and risk getting emotionally entangled with her ex-husband. Again.

GET IT FREE TODAY AT:

Amazon US: http://www.smarturl.it/LiaSTAmzn

Barnes & Noble: http://www.smarturl.it/LiaSTBN

Kobo: http://www.smarturl.it/LiaSTKobo

iBooks: http://www.smarturl.it/LiaSTiBooks

More information:

http://zoeyork.com/books/pine-harbour/

Committed Passion is a series finale, each couples’ story is moved along a little further and loose endings are tied up. I enjoyed revisiting all the characters and at the same time I was happy to say goodbye so I can start something new. Not sure exactly what the next series will be. I started on a MC (motorcycle club) romance a while back but about a chapter in I realized I wasn’t achieving the grit factor expected in these types of romances. But maybe I’ll work on it anyway. In the meantime, I hope you’ll enjoy Committed Passion. Buy links are on the book’s page here on the web site.

The Wyatt brothers and their special ladies are back to celebrate a wedding in a final novella.

 If you enjoyed Leah and J.D.’s story in Blind Passion but wanted to see how they worked out some of their issues, Committed Passion is for you.

 If you’re a fan of Gina and Micah, who bicker and banter but fall in love by the end of Dangerous Passion, here’s a chance to learn more about how they settle into each others lives.

 Or if Jonah and Rianna’s pussyfooting around love in Guarded Passion intrigued you, they’re back and contemplating lifetime commitment.

 Three couples. Six points of view. Three stories tied up and resolved—more or less.