Horror and Fantasy Titles for Halloween

     It’s almost Halloween and I thought it would be a good idea to highlight some Spooky Reads! There are many different types of scary stories. Some are horror, some are fantasy or science fiction; and others are combinations of all of these. These kinds of stories may be terrifying, weird, or even funny. I’ve tried to list a sampling of books that would appeal to different readers, so, please enjoy!

Classic Horror Stories and Writers

• The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
• The Case of Charles Dexter Ward by H. P. Lovecraft (again, anything from Lovecraft)
• Bartlby the Scrivner by Herman Melville
• The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe (really, just about anything from Poe)
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Dracula by Bram Stoker                  

More Contemporary Horror Writers and Novels

•  The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker
• The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
• Under the Dome by Stephen King
• Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
• The Haunted by Bentley Little
• Figures of Fear by Graham Masterton
• Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice
• Perfect Nightmare by John Saul 

Urban Fantasy Series and Authors

• Vampire Huntress Legend by L. A. Banks
• Vampire Queen Betsy Taylor Series by MaryJanice Davidson
• The Otherworld Novels by Yasmine Galenorn
• Anita Blake Series by Laurel Hamilton
• Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harris
• Dark Hunter Novels by Sherrilyn Kenyon
• The Black Dagger Brotherhood by J. R. Ward
• Novels of Count Saint-Germain by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

Zombie Fiction (Just for the Heck of It!)

• Death Warmed Over: Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. by Kevin J. Anderson
• I Saw Zombies Eating Santa Clause by Scott G. Brown
• Severed Souls by Terry Goodkind
• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith
• Zombie Island: a Shakespeare Undead Novel by Lori Handeland
• Apocalypse Cow by Michael Logan
• Strands of Sorrow by John Ringo

Yasmine Galenorn Strikes Again!

I will forever be grateful to my co-worker, Denise, for introducing me to the world of Yasmine Galenorn! I just finished reading the seventh book in her "Otherworld Series" and I enjoyed it as much as I have the other six. The latest book in this series is titled Bone Magic, and it follows the lives of the D'Artigo sisters, three half-fae, half-human women who work for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency and live on Earth. Mennolly is a vampire, Delilah is a shapeshifter who shifts into a cat and Camille is a witch who serves the Moon Mother. Every book focuses mainly on one sister and Bone Magic's focus is on Camille. I recommend reading the books in order, as many of the story elements build on each other, especially the relationships between the sisters and their various human, demon and fae family and friends. The sisters face intense peril as they fight against the demons threatening to take over Earth and the other forces determined to rip apart the fabric separating the Otherworld and Earth and wreak irrevocable damage. The action in Bone Magic is intense and there are plenty of good and evil characters running loose. Each sister has to face her own trials and tribulations and life does not always work out easily for them. I truly enjoy reading these books because they showcase a world that is different from ours but entirely believable. I also found out some other news---Yasmine Galenorn is currently writing a new series involving vampires that will be published later this year! For more information on this author, check out her web site at http://www.galenorn.com/.

A Dash of Rosemary and Rue

Seanan McGuire begins her October "Toby"Daye series with a bang! Rosemary and Rue is a tense, involved urban fantasy suspense story filled with all sorts of creatures, human and fae. October Daye is a half-human changeling and former private investigator. The premise of the story is that the Faerie world did not disappear but went into hiding and continues to exist parallel to our Earth world. When the Fae and Earth worlds collided, changelings were born. Half-humand and half-fae, these creatures are outsiders from birth and fend their lives fighting for the respect of their immortal pureblood relatives. Toby has spent her whole life trying to fit into either the human or faerie world and has failed in relating to either one. She wakes up from a fourteen year old curse spent as a fish, and retreats into the "normal" human world, giving up all her friends, relatives and her private investigator business. The murder of Countess Evening Winterrose, one of the secret regents of the San Francisco Bay area pulls Toby back into the fae world. Right before her death, Evening binds Toby with a curse and she is forced to investigate and find Evening's killer or risk death herself. This is a great book, full of mystery and a great story. Most of the story is spent setting up the history of the series, but it is worth it to read the story. Toby is a tough heroine with a stubborn streak and armor she wears to hide her self from everyone else. This book is the first in the October Daye series and I know that I am looking forward to reading more about this character.

Take a Sip from a Strange Brew

Strange Brew is a collection of tales of powerful witches and dark magic, from nine contemporary urban fantasy authors: Patricia Briggs, Jim Butcher, Rachel Caine, Karen Chance, P. N. Elrod, Charlaine Harris, Faith Hunter, Catilin Kittredge and Jenna Maclaine. If you like tales of revenge and magic, witches, vampires, werewolves and wizards, then this collection of stories is the perfect book for you. Edited by P. N. Elrod, each story is approximately 40 pages long and can be read quickly. If you do not currently read some of the above authors, this book is the perfect way to explore a "taste" of their writing, and perhaps be encouraged to read other stories they have written. Sit a spell, open this book and lose yourself in a different reality!