Genre: Horror / Anthology
Publisher: Dark Chapter Press
Publication Date: 13th Feb 2016
Pages: 141
MY REVIEW:
A copy of Eight
Deadly Kisses was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the publishers, Dark
Chapter Press, in exchange for an honest review. This is said review.
This is the second anthology I have read from Dark
Chapter Press. I know David Basnet had a lot of input into this one from an
editing point of view so I was intrigued to find out how that worked out for
him. Plus, I make no secret that I think Dark Chapter Press are going to be a
force to be reckoned with in the next few years. They put their heart and soul
into the books they produce and it shows.
Eight
Deadly Kisses also has two other great things going for
it.
Number One is the fact that it was released as part of
Woman in Horror month so all of the contributors are, you guessed it, women!
The second thing is that this book is Dark Chapter
Press’s first foray into the world of charity.
Dark Chapter Press and the writers gathered in this
anthology have committed to supporting CAMFED, a charity providing education
for girls and young women in Africa, to build brighter futures and to encourage
the development of female leaders. All money received by Dark Chapter Press
from sales of Eight Deadly Kisses
will be donated to CAMFED.
For more info on CAMFED, please visit here.
To donate to the Dark Chapter Press Just Giving page, go here.
So how did this bunch of ladies do then? Let’s find out!
NIGHT TERRORS BY AUDREY E.L. COOTS
Anias has night terrors. They are so bad she is totally
paralysed and hears voices and feels someone touching her. Her roommate Amily
uses her psychology training to try and convince Anias it’s all in her mind.
It’s not though. Amily should have listened.
Now this is how you open an anthology. This was a very
relaxed and to the point short story that left no room for confusion or doubt.
It is very creepy because when the terrors hit, Anias cannot move a muscle and
cannot prevent certain things from happening to her.
The way this is written is very effective in putting you
into the situation yourself and feeling the fear. You will hold your breath
during these scenes.
A good twist at the end makes this a good opener.
★★★★ for general.
★★★★ for horror.
SOUL SEEKERS BY ALICE J BLACK
Soul Seekers is not a dating agency nor a psychic
service. Peyton and Olivia run it and they hunt ghosts.
The business is just taking off when they are called in
to investigate some nasty goings on at a bed and breakfast. Peyton thinks she
is out of her depth on this case but maybe it’s time for Soul Seekers to take
on the big boys.
Think Poltergeist
from the perspective of the ghost hunters and that’s what you have here. I
really enjoyed this one. To be honest maybe the writing could be a little more
polished but the potential is definitely there.
I could see this developing into a very successful series
of stories for Ms Black.
She has the ideas and the undoubted talent for
writing. Just needs a bit more oomph for me to lead it more to the darker side
and make it scarier.
★★★★ for general.
★★★ for horror.
THE DEAD SEASON BY FIONA DODWELL
Chloe hasn’t had the best of records on the dating front.
When she comes across an advert for Soul Match, she seems to be convinced they
are the company to finally find her the match she craves. When they set her up
on her first date, she begins to wish she had stayed at home.
Brilliant. Just brilliant. This is a deeply dark tale
that is told so convincingly well that you will believe everything about it and if you are in the dating scene, you will
stop.
Fiona Dodwell has a very nice, free flowing writing style
that is uncomplicated but not overly simple. It drags you in and keeps you
hooked until you can’t stop reading. Remember to breathe.
Brilliant stuff.
★★★★★ for general.
★★★★★ for horror.
MARION BY ERICA CHIN
A lady wakens in the middle of a field. She has no idea
who she is or where she is but hears the name Marion. Soon after, she is
rescued by George, who appears to know her, also as Marion.
That’s all I can give you without spoilers. I was really
enjoying this one and then it ended. A little prematurely for me. Yeah I know
it’s a short story but sometimes they need to be padded out a little bit so
they don’t feel rushed in the end.
★★★★ for general.
★★★ for horror.
COMMUTING BY VERONICA SMITH
Tamar is on her daily commute home when someone breaks
into her car at an intersection. Facing a madman with a gun, she has no choice
but to drive and hope someone rescues her.
Bobby is behind her and sees everything. Will he be able
to come to the rescue?
Another crackin story. This to me is more of a thriller
but is horrific in the fact that this is all mental torture. Tamar is in
turmoil, trying to figure a way out of things when there seems to be no hope
and you do get a true picture of the fear in her head.
This has a wicked twist at the end as well just when you
think you have it sussed.
★★★★★ for general.
★★★★ for horror.
THE BLACK CAT BY SHARON L. HIGA
Aissa lives in Morocco with her native born mother and
French father. He is in the Navy and spends his time battling against pirates
on the high seas.
Aissa is kidnapped by the same pirates and faces a
struggle just to survive but also to escape.
Hmmm not sure on this one. I could see what was intended
and the idea behind the story. It just didn’t do it for me in the execution. It
felt as though it was rushed and put together with a few things missing.
A shame, because up to a point I was really enjoying it
and the potential it had.
★★.5 for general.
★★.5 for horror.
LATE LUNCH BY C A VIRUET
Kris and Alicia are meeting for lunch. They enjoy these
days where they can totally relax and enjoy each other’s company.
They try the Vassal Bar and Grill. Somewhere new.
Somewhere intriguing. Somewhere they should have avoided.
Loved it, loved it, loved it.
Dark and mysterious, this
is a story that just keeps building and building the tension and the hatred and
the horror right up to an explosive ending that will leave you thinking wow!
And breathe!
★★★★★ for general.
★★★★★ for horror.
PRICK BY D A CHANEY
Mara works in a bookstore. When Jake approaches her for
help one day, she thinks he is ok, even possible boyfriend material. When Jake
starts to turn up in places he shouldn’t, Mara gets worried that he is not all
he is making out to be.
This is a really good one to close the book. Again, this
is all mental torture and horror. It’s a story about how simple things like
seeing someone where they are not supposed to be can mess with your head to the
point where you think you are going mad.
An excellent psychological horror, again written in such
a way that the tension is built perfectly and you can’t help but read from
behind a cushion.
★★★★★ for general.
★★★★★ for horror.
So there you have it. Eight
Deadly Kisses. Eight stories by eight different women for Women in Horror
Month. Eight very different styles of stories that truly show the merits of an
anthology like this.
I liked the fact that the only connection between the
writers in this one was the fact they are female. That then left them open to
write stories in completely different styles, which was really good. Sometimes
I get a bit bored halfway through an anthology if the stories are all of the
same theme. Not this one.
Most of the stories could not be more different.
Dark Chapter Press have done it again in my opinion.
To summarise: if you want an anthology with vastly
different stories that won’t take you a month to read then this is for you. All
about the women and all very powerful stories in their own rite. Good stuff.
Plus, you will be giving something to charity when you
buy!
As always with an anthology, I am very scientific in my
scoring. Average scores for each story divided by the amount of stories.
General rating:
★★★★.3 for general.
Horror rating:
★★★★ for horror.
To buy Eight Deadly
Kisses or any other books from Dark Chapter Press, visit the link below.
This will take you directly to your local Amazon, no
matter which country you are in.
Thanks.
Book Synopsis:
Evil does not consider, or discriminate, it simply
selects its target, stalks, and strikes. Evil is a concept in which the sexes
are equal. We're all fair game.
Dark Chapter Press is proud to present Eight Deadly
Kisses. Bringing together the freshest new voices in dark fiction, to thrill
you and chill you with tales focused on women facing horrors including demons,
deranged car-jackers, pirates, poltergeists and a restaurant specialty that is
simply to kill for.
Featuring stories by Fiona Dodwell, D.A. Chaney, Alice J.
Black, Veronica Smith, Sharon Higa, Audrey E.L. Coots, Erica Chin, C.A. Viruet.
Dark Chapter Press and the writers gathered in this
anthology have committed to supporting CAMFED, a charity providing education
for girls and young women in Africa, to build brighter futures and to encourage
the development of female leaders.
All money received by Dark Chapter Press from sales of
Eight Deadly Kisses will be donated to CAMFED.
Contributor Biographies
Authors
Audrey E.L. Coots
Audrey E. L. Coots currently resides in
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, where she is working on her next novel and enjoying
city life. She loves hearing feedback from readers and can be reached at AudreyCoots@gmail.com
Alice J. Black
Alice lives and
works in the North East of England where she lives with her partner and
slightly ferocious cats! She writes all manner of fiction with a tendency to
lean towards the dark side. Dreams and
sleep-talking are currently a big source of inspiration and her debut novel, The Doors, is a young adult novel which
originally came from a dream several years ago and grew from there.
Fiona Dodwell
Fiona
has had a passion for the written word since she was a child, and found herself
a regular visitor of local book stores and libraries from a young age.
Growing
up, she became a big fan of the supernatural and horror genre – in both film
and literature. She devoured Susan Hill, Dean Koontz and Stephen King novels
with relish, and soon realised she wanted to create dark fictional worlds of
her own.
Fiona
has studied a variety of subjects in recent years, from Theology and
Psychology, to Film Studies and Drama. Her passion for writing, though, is what
she focuses on now. In 2011, she released her debut horror novel, The
Banishing, and then went on to publish Obsessed and The Shift.
These novels were published with Double Dragon Publishing and Damnation Books.
Fiona
also enjoys writing articles and has written for Paranormal Underground
Magazine, Pinched Literary Magazine, and Supernatural Magazine.
She also runs her own website, which contains various selections of her
articles, interviews and reviews.
In
September of 2015, Fiona signed a contract with Media Bitch Literary Agency
where she is now represented.
Fiona
currently lives with her husband, Matthew, and her unruly ginger cat, Oscar.
Twitter: @Angel_Devil982
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fionadodwellauthor
Blog: www.studyparanormal.wordpress.com
Erica Chin
Erica Chin was born and raised in Malaysia, a
country with a diversity of ethnics, cultures and cuisines. She enjoys learning
about and writing in Mandarin and English. She revels in plotting stories that
unnerve people. She currently lives in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Find Erica Chin
on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ericachinstories
Veronica Smith
I live in Katy, Texas, west of Houston. I
have been married to my husband for over 25 years and I have a son who is in
college. I’ve always loved writing and although my overall school grades were
only average, I always got A’s in English. My self-published novella, Chalk
Outline, is available at most book retailers and I’ve had short stories
published in anthologies (Bite Sized Offerings, A Very Zombie Christmas,
Crossroads in the Dark, Fifty Shades of Slay and Grynn Anthology).
Look for more of my stories in anthologies to be published soon: Kids
Volume II, Dead Silent Zombie Anthologies, Edge of Darkness, New
Years Day, & Twisted Tea Party Tales. I am also an editor for
Stitched Smile Publications.
www.facebook.com/Veronica.Smith.Author
https://www.amazon.com/author/veronicasmith
Email Address: veronica.smith.author@gmail.com
Sharon L. Higa
Sharon L. Higa is a published author with
three novels, One novella and at least two dozen short stories in ‘a few’
anthologies. She has been writing horror, supernatural thrillers,
Fantasy/action and dark comedy steadily and full-time since 2013. She lives in
East TN with her husband Mark, nine cats and one rambunctious little mutt named
Bailey.
C.A. Viruet
C.A. Viruet is proud to have work in her
second Dark Chapter Press publication. Her story 'Noah's Burden' is featured in the 2015 Flashes of Darkness Horror
Anthology and her story 'Black Mass'
was a part of the 2015 Dark Chapter Press Christmas competition. You can follow
her on Facebook at her author page C.A. Viruet. She has published one story
under her full name entitled 'Thrall',
it is available in the Burnt Offerings Press anthology, 'Till Death Do Us Part'. She is a US Army veteran, wife, mother and
horror fan.
D.A. Chaney
D.A. Chaney is the author of ‘Cryptic’ and she has been in anthologies
including, ‘Before Plan 9: Plans 1-8 from
Outer Space’, ‘Read the End First’,
‘Hell Hath No Fury’, ‘Wake the Witch’, ‘First Time Dead volume 2’, and ‘Monster
Gallery’. She co-hosts a podcast with Mike Sabourin called The Shelf Life Podcast where they
discuss books and makes appearances on Slashercast
SideEffect where they discuss latest movies. She can be reached on Twitter
at @DA_Chaney, on her Facebook page at DA Chaney, or the podcast
@TheShelfLifePod
Editors
David Basnett
Hailing from north of Hadrian's Wall, the
true life inspiration for Game of Thrones' The Wall, that was built to keep the
Roman empire intact, David was raised amid the foothills of the Cheviots and in
the shadow of the sprawling Northumberland National Park. His fast paced style
of writing and knack of breathing life into tired genres has established him as
a horror and young adult author to watch out for.
Young
Adult:
Eve of the Damned
Island of the Dead
The Shadow of Life
Adult:
Ravensdowne
Kill for a Copy
A regular on social media and always
responding to fans, keep in touch with David on:
twitter.com/dbasnett
facebook.com/officialdavidbasnett
davidbasnettauthor.wordpress.com
Jack Rollins
Jack Rollins was born and raised among the
twisting cobbled streets and lanes, ruined forts and rolling moors of a
medieval market town in Northumberland, England. He claims to have been adopted
by Leeds in West Yorkshire, and he spends as much time as possible immersed in
the shadowy heart of that city.
Writing has always been Jack’s addiction,
whether warping the briefing for his English class homework, or making his own
comic books as a child, he always had some dark tale to tell.
Fascinated by all things Victorian, Jack
often writes within that era, but also creates contemporary nightmarish visions
in horror and dark urban fantasy.
He currently lives in Northumberland, with
his partner, two sons, and his daughter living a walking distance from his
home, which is slowly but surely being overtaken by books...
Jack’s published works are as
follows:
The Séance: A Gothic Tale of Horror and Misfortune
The Cabinet of Dr Blessing
Dead Shore, in Undead Legacy
Anti-Terror, in Carnage: Extreme Horror
Home, Sweet Home in Kill For A Copy
Ghosts of Christmas Past in The
Dichotomy of Christmas
Jack can be found online at:
Twitter: @jackrollins9280
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/doctorblessing
Website: jackrollinshorror.wordpress.com
Founded on 1 August 2014, Dark Chapter Press is a horror Publisher with a mission to foster new talent and high quality speculative fiction.
Dark Chapter Press aims to find and develop new talent in speculative fiction and to guide new authors from manuscript to published work.
And for more about Dark Chapter Press, visit their site or find them on social media:
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