The Duel Anthology OUT on Pre-order

The long awaited collection of the House of Horror Duel stories is now available for pre-order at £9.99 with free shipping. Come grab your copy and meet all the brave warriors who took on each other and defeated Death, all for the pleasure of The House Madame!

Order it HERE now at the House of Horror Book Shop and get it in time for Halloween!

Review of Lucky Stiff by Tonia Brown (Explicit Content and Language)

Well, what can I say about Lucky Stiff! This book had me roaring with laughter, biting my lip in tears and almost all the way through it trying to force myself NOT to read the book with one hand! Tonia Brown is an amazing writer of horrotica. Her ability to make each and every scene something new and unique is amazing, afterall there is only so many words you can use for the male and female genitalia!

The story begins with young Peter Lyles visiting New Orleans with his friends for spring break. But of course he isn't into the partying his scene much to his friends despair. After studying hard, all Peter wants to do is rest, relax and enjoy the scenery. But for some reason he cannot seem to switch off and rest. Stupidly, he accepts what he thinks are sleeping pills off one of his friends and winds up dead. Of course you would think that was where the story ends. But you are so mistaken. This is where the story begins.

Peter's friends drag his body to the house of a mystery voodoo witch where she is able to bring his body back. But there is a catch. He an only come back as a zombie. But no ordinary zombie. He is still looks and acts relatively human.

After saying goodbye to his friends and telling his mom and dad he won't be going back to school or coming home for a while, Peter lives with the voodoo witch, Madame Sangrail where she teaches him how to stop himself from eating human flesh like the M.O of a zombie. The only way for him to do this is to feed off the light given off when a woman orgasms. Madam Sangrail teaches him all kinds of things until it is time for him to leave the nest and go out into the world, and even make a visit back home to see his mom and dad. This he does, but things don't go so well.

Peter travels the world, shagging his way through the female population to feed his hunger, and meets a whole load of people. He even works for an escort agency and his new Madam, Niki, advertises his services as a vampire escort. He uses a range of medical conditions to explain his features, one of which is a constant erection and the inability to come.

I loved this book. At times, I wondered whether the sex was over-done as there was a sex act on almost every page, but the rest of the story balanced it out well and Tonia's ability to take it from the boring x goes into y, made it a much more interesting read.

I have never really been into zombie stories, but this mix match of zombies, love, hate, sex and rivalry and betrayal was exciting and I thoroughly enjoyed joining Peter on his journey to sexual enlightenment.

There really is only one word to describe this book and that is H.O.T. Trust me, once you start this story, you better cancel all dates, unhook the phone and turn off the TV. You are in for one hell of a ride and you will not want to put this book down until you have ridden Peter all the way. Let him take you to the brink, let him dangle you there while you scream his name and let him FUCK the living daylight out of you!

Review of Whispers of a Witch by Suza Kates

Whispers of a Witch is an enchanting tale of mystery, adventure and sexual awakening. The tale of Shauni, a young woman with the ability to talk to animals, takes us on a path of enlightenment where Shauni's life will change forever.

The story begins with nine young women suddenly sensing the need to pack up everything and move to the beautiful Savannah, but why, they do not know. It is a calling and they all must answer it. Shauni is one of them and takes her cat – who she can communicate with – along for the ride. It turns out that when all of the women come together, they all own cats and their names are unusually meaningful. The nine women are confronted with another young woman named Anna and are taken to a large secluded house where they are told why they have come together and what they must do.

Amongst the madness and the magic, Shauni manages to find love. The delicious Michael. And we know that he is delicious because Kates describes him in so much detail, you can feel your eyes glazing over and your heart pumping faster when he enters the scene. Even with all of her secrets, Michael wants her and will do anything to have her. But he too has his own secret and will eventually use it in a bid to save Shauni's life and inadvertently put his own in danger.

Kates has a remarkable way of expressing every little detail throughout the book. She concentrates on painting a picture so vivid, that the reader can almost smell th fresh air and feel the wind on their face. Her ability to make the readers read the words like they are playing out like a movie in front of their eyes.

I really enjoyed living Shauni's adventure with her and sharing her thoughts and feelings about her new life. And when things get hot and heavy with her new found love, well, lets just say I could not put the book down. I enjoyed the underlying tone of this book too. The fact that despite everything that is tossed in front of you, love and understanding can conquer all in the end. Even if there are bumps a long the way, fate will find a way for two people to come together.

I look forward to reading the next instalment of this enchanting tale and more from this wonderfully talented writer. If you are going to pick up a book this week, then let it be, Whispers of a Witch. This is one book that you can snuggle up with by the fire.

Exciting, enthralling and at times erotic, you will surely not want to put down Whispers of a Witch. Suza Kates is an upcoming name to look out for.

Inteview with Suza Kates, Author of 'Whispers of a Witch'

Suza Kates was born in Jacksonville, Alabama, the youngest of five children. Growing up surrounded by siblings and parents who were bookworms, she naturally developed a love for the written word. She attended Jacksonville State University, majoring in English and biology.
After receiving her degree, Suza pursued a lifelong dream to live abroad, teaching English to students from various countries. A long, cold, German winter caused her to pick up the pen and begin writing. Then she was hooked.
Upon her return home to the States, she taught at a local community college while going back to school herself for a degree in nursing. During the few hours that remained between classes, clinicals, and studying, she worked on her novel, She Who Is Hidden. This book opened the door to a world of romance fueled by history, adventure, and peril that developed into the She Trilogy.
Shortly after graduating, Suza moved to Savannah, Georgia. It is there among the moss-covered oaks and whispered secrets that she continues to find inspiration for The Savannah Coven Series and the various kinds of trouble her witches seem to conjure.


Welcome Suza to my House of Horror, probably a little different to your other interview locations huh?

Different, yes, but I feel right at home. I was a horror fan long before I discovered romance. The first movie I ever saw was “Bambi.” The second was “Jaws.” I’ve been warped ever since. Halloween is THE holiday, so…thanks for the change in venue!

Now, this book was vey forthcoming with details of the craft. Are you in fact a fellow Wiccan?

I don’t practice Wicca but have a great deal of respect for the basis of the craft. I embrace many of the same ideals in my life and find some similarities between Wicca and Native American customs. Having said that, I am fascinated by the idea of potions and spells and would love to find a little power in myself someday. Who wouldn’t?

Tell us a little about the book

“Whisper of a Witch” is the first of book of the series, so it introduces us to the coven as well as telling Shauni’s story. The nine women that make up the coven find themselves pulled to an island off the coast in Savannah, Georgia. There they discover something about themselves and a prophecy they are meant to fulfill. Oh, and there are a few “hot points” (as my mother calls them) between the hero and heroine, just to spice things up a bit.

What were your inspirations behind writing "Whisper of a Witch"?

I’ve always wanted to write a book about witches, and the opportunity presented itself after I moved to Savannah. The scenery here is gorgeous and mysterious, the perfect setting for my witches! The idea of a group of women banding together to fight evil surrounded by a rich, southern background seemed delicious, and I can hardly wait to start plotting each witch’s story!

I hear that there will be a sequel out next year. Can you tell us anything about this one and will it follow the trait of being centred on one member of the coven.

Yes, it will be another witch’s time to play her part, though I can’t tell you who it will be! I’ve gotten a great reaction to the coven, and some readers have written in asking for a certain woman to be next. I love these witches, and I’m so glad others do, too.

How long have you been writing for?

Technically for about nine years, but seriously writing for three. Something clicked inside me, and I realized I wanted to write full time. I’m not there, yet, but the response to “Whisper of a Witch” is very encouraging. My dream life is waking up every day to make coffee, fire up the computer, and have a cat in my lap as I write the next book.

Tell us about any other projects you have coming up or in the works.

“Conviction of a Witch” will be out in February of 2011, but a couple of other projects are slated for this fall. My first romantic suspense titled “She Who is Hidden” involves some history, adventure, riddles, and, of course, hot romance! I just found out another of my books will be released in e-book format in September. “Hallowed Eve” is also a romantic suspense and will be out just in time for Halloween. It definitely satisfies my horror addiction. Mua ha ha!

If you were to have a fantasy dinner party, who would be your guests - living or dead - and why?

Ooh. Fun question. Of the dead, I would pick River Phoenix, because he was just gone too soon. I would also love to have Joan of Arc, because c’mon, how cool was she? Mary Queen of Scots and Sir Isaac Newton because they are both supposed to be ancestors of mine. I’d like to know if that’s true or not. : )
In the world of the living, I would have M. Night Shyamalan. I love his twisted mind! Nora Roberts, to ask her how she writes so fast. And if I can play a little with this fantasy, I’d like to have Eric Northman from True Blood, because…well, isn’t it obvious?

Do you have any inspirational words of wisdom for those seeking to become a better writer to trying to get published?

Absolutely. Go to writer’s conferences and join a critique group, but try to stay in your genre. I have found that a sci-fi writer does not always understand romance, just as a romance writer might want to soften up a horror novel. Other writers in your genre will know the market you’re writing for and give more valuable feedback.
A new author might also want to submit shorter works to e-book publishers. Be open, and don’t hoard your works for that “big break.” Small presses are a great way to get started, and any editorial advice is worth its weight in gold. (Oops. That was a cliché.) Plus, it will get an author’s name out there and the sooner the better.
Words of wisdom? I tend to be a little bit of a rule breaker, so I would tell authors to write to please their readers, not agents and editors. If the story is there, the readers will be, too.

Thank you so much for being here today, Suza. Just because I like you, I am going to give you a free pass out of here. Just take this bag of past guests brains and throw it at the zombies as you near the door. If they get you, it ain’t my fault! Any final words?

If I don’t make it out of here, make sure someone feeds my cats!

Inteview with Kevin Wallis Author of 'Beneath the Surface of Things'

Kevin, welcome to my House of Horror, how are you? Here have a glass of red wine. . . or at least, I think it's wine. . .

Hmm, I'm more of a beer drinker . . . Less bodily fluids to confuse beer with. Well, I guess that's not true.

So, you have a book out now, Beneath the Surface of Things. Please tell us a little about it.

It comes out September 1st through Bards and Sages Publishing. It's 25 stories of horror, sci-fi, and fantasy, woth a humor piece thrown in for grins. It's gotten some good, positive reviews so far: Gary Braunbeck said, "An impressive, often unnerving, and always gutsy collection . . . showcases Wallis' determination to break through the so-called boundaries of dark fiction . . ." Bailey Hunter from Dark Recesses Press said, ". . . a vivid tapestry of horrific prose. While the stories seem to have an underlying theme of human condition, they are anything but common. This collection runs the gamut of the classic cool creep to the more visceral and gut-wrenching."

It's been a long time in the making, from the writing to editing to finding a publisher, so I'm very excited about it, and I hope it's a springboard to bigger and better things. I've always wanted to be a major league catcher, so maybe this will help.

You also work as an editor for Liquid Imagination Publishing, I see. I can imagine that takes its toll on your spare time. How do you manage your own writing with that of being an editor and also your personal time?

I usually let the submissions from Liquid Imagination build up until I can't ignore them any longer, then I spend a few days ignoring my own writing and strictly going through the LI stories. It wirks good for now, but when Liquid Imagination blows up and takes over the online literary world, I'll probably need to hire some help.

You're a family man with a wife and three children. What do they think about what you're doing?

Ha. They're extremely supportive and proud of me, but my wife does not understand, appreciate, or have any need for anything horror-related. I think the Amityville Horror traumatized her as a kid, and I'm paying for it now. But, her dislike for scary stuff just makes her support of what I do that much more special to me.

As for my kids, they understand that they won't be able to read most of my stories for another decade or so. I write stories specifically for them, though, so it evens out. (One of the stories I wrote for them, and starring them too, is being published in Yarns For Our Youths by Static Movement soon.)

What other genres do you write?

I still write mostly horror, but I like the more subtle scares. I don't write blood and guts stuff. That's boring to me. I still try to keep it about the characters rather than the scare.

I write sci-fi occasionally if the plot calls for a setting like this, but I'm not smart or tech-savvy enough to pull it off usually. And there are several stories in my book that aren't horror or sci-fi at all, but more mainstream and personal stories that don't fit nicely into a specific genre.

Tell us about any other projects you have coming up or in the works.

I finally started my first novel, after saying I'm gonna do it for ten years now. Hopefully it'll help attract an agent, which is the next step in my writing goal flowsheet.

What were your inspirations for writing this collection?

Every story was inspired by something different. I actually include a short explanation after each story stating what inspired me to write that particular story.

I grew up reading King, Barker, Lovecraft, Poe and the like, so I guess much of my writing is directly inspired by the masters, especially Lovecraft.

When did you first begin writing and at what moment did you realise that it was what you wanted to do most in life?

I've been writing since I was a kid, although not many people knew I was doing it. After getting a couple stories in my high school fiction magazine (man, those stories were bad), I didn't write much until after college. Maintaining my stellar B and C average just didn't allow for the time.

I finally got serious about it about 3 years ago. I never thought I'd even get one story published, but after having a modicum of success these past few years, I want more and more - score an agent, publish a novel, become the starting catcher for my Houston Astros . . .

Do you have any words of wisdom for those seeking advice from a pro?

This sounds cliche, but just don't quit. Take every rejection and turn it into a lesson to improve your writing. Study the craft, don't ever take rejection personally, and put in the hours. Too many aspiring writers want success but aren't willing to put in the hard work to achieve it.

Thank you so much for being here Kevin, I was beginning to wonder what I could feed to the zombie girls. Do you have any last words before I let them loose on you?

I have 23. Thanks for the time. I hope people enjoy my book. And next time feed me some O+. O- goes straight to my thighs.

Run Kevin, run for your life! It makes your meat taste better mwah ha ha ha ha!

A Pint of Bloody Fiction closed to submissions. ToC's announced

“200 Words” Neil Leckman

“Pistol Whipped” Dave Rex

“The Blade Bites Deep” Stanley Riiks

“Insomnia” Pat Lewis-Bussard

“The Toy” Charlotte Emma Gledson

“Jilted” Brian Barnett

“I love my Job” Gary McKenzie

“Jars” Neil Leckman

“Crimson” Meagan Elizabeth Hightower

“The Worse Thing I Ever Did” Jason M. Tucker

“The Yearning” Sara Saint John

"A Woman of Taste” Angel Zapata

“The Idol” Terence Kuch

“Ladies Man” Pat Lewis-Bussard

“Library Of Souls” Neil Leckman

“Night Song” B.A. Sans

“Home Movies” Kevin L. Jones

“Salvation” Gary McKenzie

“Rorschach's Vampire” Jason M. Tucker

“The Door” Adam Francis Smith

“The Devil's Quest” S.E.COX

“Instruments of Torture” Flo Stanton

“Spiders” Neil Leckman

“The Lady or the Vampire” Ken L. Jones

“The Shoot” Brian Rosenberger

“Funeral at Louisiana Bayou” Theresa C. Newbill

“The Winner” Gayle Arrowood

“Water's Pity” Chris Keaton

“Little Nikita” S.E.COX

“Down a Hole” Gary McKenzie

“Gift Wrap” Neil Leckman

“In the Moment” Nandy Ekle

“The Good Husband” Christina Hugh

“Bellies Bucket” AJ Brown

“Faceless” Nate Burleigh

“Shard” Brandon L. Rucker

“Jack” Francis W. Alexander

“Three Degrees of Freedom” Theresa C. Newbill

“Lost Connection” Neil Leckman

Anthology Call ~ Tales of a Woman Scorned

Tales of a Woman Scorned

This anthology will be a collection of all those stories of what women will do to get what they want. From bunny boilers, to black widows, we want to read your darkest stories about these psychotic women.

Story Guidelines

We are looking for stories of between 2000-5000 words. Reprints are welcome as long as you have permission to sell your story again.

Submission Guidelines

All submissions should be pasted into the body of an email. We do this simply to keep out any computer viruses as the editor’s laptops and computers are most precious to us, and also it makes for an easy transfer from editor to editor without constantly having to download an attachment. Anyone who sends us an attachment will not be read and their submission will automatically be deleted without notification.

Please only send one submission at a time. This means no multiple submissions. By all means, if we reject a story, then send us another – this goes for the poets too –one submission only! Simultaneous submissions are OK as long as you let us know if it has been accepted elsewhere whilst sat in our queue.

Put “Tales of a woman scorned/title/wordcount” in the subject line and send all submissions to horrorhouse.editor@yahoo.com and please be aware that your submissions may be shipped around for second or third opinions.

Please note that anyone who is a friend of the editor or from another publication/eZine etc, their work will be stripped of identity and sent to another editor for reading. I do not want to be biased when reading for this anthology. Theoretically as Editor in Chief, I will have the final say, but I will take into consideration the comments and notes from the other editors before making my decision.

Please format your submission with the following:

12pt Times New Roman – no other font please. Single spaced with a 2cm paragraph indentation. No returns after paragraphs. Mark scene breaks with three stars with two spaces between each one e.g. * * *

All em dashes – must be true hyphens – with no spaces between words. Sentences in Italics should be in italics, not underlined.

In the body of an email before your submission, please introduce yourself, maybe tell us a little about the story – we like to hear about writers that submit to us, not a lot of publications do, but we want to get to know our writers and also include an interesting bio of 100-200 words. Please make your bio’s interesting. We do not want a reel off of publications and websites, pick your favourite three and keep it at that.

Open to submissions now and closed when full. We’re looking for about 30 stories for this fun anthology so get yours in as soon as you can. Expect to be put on a short-list or a rejection. Acceptances will be given out when we have all chosen stories.

Expected Publication date:

Mid to late Octopber 2010

Payment:

We offer $5 per story and $3 per poem, Also we have a contributor's royalty scheme. Upon publication, each contributor will choose their own reference number. Any books bought quoting their unique reference number, said contributor will recieve a further $5 or $3 via paypal depending on whether they had a story or poem published. There is no limit to how many books you can sell quoting your reference number, the more books that you sell, the more money you make.

Extras:

We are also looking for some plain black and white sketches to open the anthology - just two or three. If you would like to submit any sketches in keeping with the theme of the anthology then please use the same channels as story subs. All pieces accepted will receive $5 per sketch.

Have fun writing and I look forward to reading all of your stories!

~ S.E.COX – Editor in Chief, House of Horror