ANNOUNCEMENT: UPCOMING INTERVIEW WITH DUNCAN RALSTON

I am very happy to announce that as part of the build up to his new release later this week, Duncan Ralston will be popping into the Confessional this week for an interview to tell you all about himself, his writing and of course the book, Gristle and Bone: 7 Delectable Tales of Terror, out 17th July.

Part One of the interview will be this Wednesday 15^th July and Part Two on the following evening 16^th July. I will be publishing my review of Gristle and Bone on night three, 17^th July.

Please pop along and show your support for a gentleman making his debut on Confessions of a Reviewer. This interview makes for some very interesting reading and I’m sure this will not be last of Mr. Ralston appearing on Confessions!

GUEST POST: Confessions of my Past, Present and Future #3 - Erik Hofstatter

Confessions of my Past, Present and Future

by

Erik Hofstatter

The Past

If you're an insatiable reader like me, you'll know exactly how difficult it is to select a book that touched you in some way, because there's simply too many to choose from! I read legions of wonderful (and terrible) books over the years, but there is one that will always remain in my mind—Cold Skin by Spanish anthropologist/novelist Albert Sanchez Pinol. The opening paragraph alone enchanted me:

“We are never very far from those we hate. For this very reason, we shall never be truly close to those we love. An appalling fact, I knew it well enough when I embarked. But some truths deserve our attention; others are best left alone.”

The novel itself, chronicles the story of a former fighter for the independence of Ireland who, unmotivated by the events of the Western World, decides to escape from the society in which he lives. He accepts a job offer as a weather official on a remote island in the south Atlantic close to the Antarctic Circle.

On this island there is only one inhabitant, the signals official Batis Caffo, who does not help the Irishman, and hides all the information which he has on the island. So the hero has to spend a night alone, where he suffers the attack of strange monsters that are similar to frogs. They’re called Sitauca.

REVIEW: Harvey Click - Demon Frenzy

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Createspace

Publication Date: 5^th Sept 2014

Pages: 256

MY REVIEW:

A copy of Demon Frenzy was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the author Harvey Click in exchange for an honest review. This is said review.

The story with this one is as follows. Mr Click sends me a review request and for some reason it goes into my spam folder so I don’t see it for a few days. When I do see it I agree to review and put it in the schedule. When I come to it, I open it and, sorry for this Harvey, spot the cover and immediately think “oh dear”. I really didn’t like it at all. This sort of put me off reading it. EDIT: It appears the cover may have changed from the edition I have. Phew. It’s much better.

You know the old saying don’t you? “Never judge a book by its cover”? It’s true. What I was expecting and what I got were two completely different things.

Amy Jackson is returning to her hometown of Blackwood in the Appalachian Mountains on a quest to find her missing brother, Billy. When she gets there she is confronted with a town that has completely changed since she was last there. It seems to be completely under the control of “The Mayor” who just happens to be a huge drug lord.

When she goes to the old family home she sees something that scares her to her very core. It appears that the Mayor has a bigger army than anyone thinks. It seems that he also has control over a huge number of demons.

Amy teams up with Neoma and an unlikely band of misfits calling themselves “The Unseen” in a quest to destroy the Mayor and his army of demons using anything they can, including some mystical powers that Amy didn’t know she possessed.

ANOTHER SINCERE THANK YOU FROM CONFESSIONS OF A REVIEWER!!

I started this blog on 4^th February 2015. It was started as a sort of side project for me to get my teeth into after some people had commented on my reviews on Facebook, telling me I should get my own website.

A website was probably a step too far for me at that point in time so I went for the blog instead. I had never had anything to do with a blog in the past so went at it totally blind. Thanks to the help of some very generous people I managed to get things up and running and I have been loving every minute of it since then.

On 4^th July the blog was exactly five months old. On 6^th July the blog hit 10,000 page views.

I am absolutely, totally, astounded and humbled that I have hit this figure in such a short period of time. I do put a lot of work and effort into trying to make it look good and make the content as interesting and informative as I can but at the end of the day, it’s people visiting the page that gives the numbers.

For that, to you the visitor, I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for keeping coming back to read my ramblings and reviews. It means a lot to have so many people show an interest in something I take a lot of pride in.

Thank you again and remember to keep coming back for more and please share with anyone you think would enjoy a visit as well!!

Nev.

REVIEW: Christina Bergling - Savages

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Bad Day Books / Assent Publishing

Publication Date: 19th Dec 2014

Pages: 130

MY REVIEW:

This review of Savages by Christina Bergling is the result of an ARC originally sent to Ginger Nuts of Horror in exchange for an honest review. This is said review.

Another new author to me. Christina Bergling is not a name I have heard before but after reading this I reckon I will be looking out for her in the future.

Two survivors battle through everything put in their path in a post-apocalyptic world with only one goal…….to find other survivors. They want to find “normal” humans though. Not the Savages. Travelling alone, they fight, sleep, walk and repeat. Things change dramatically when they come across a new born baby hidden in a cupboard. Their goal now must also include the survival of this new life in the hateful world it has been born into. This does not prove easy.

When I was reading this book I wasn’t sure. It had me gripped from the first page but something just didn’t sit right with me. Then I realised why.

When I say this story is post-apocalyptic, forget the normal run of the mill zombie story. This is not it. Yes the world as we know it has ended. Yes the world is now full of Savages. No I don’t know what caused it or why the Savages were indeed “savages”. You don’t find out in this story. Ever. You don’t even find out the main characters names until 65% into the story. They are simply known as the female that’s telling the story and the man she calls “he”.

REVIEW: Christina Bergling - The Waning

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Bad Day Books / Assent Publishing

Publication Date: 6th July 2015

Pages: 136

MY REVIEW:

A copy of The Waning was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the author Christina Bergling in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by Bad Day Books / Assent Publishing.

I was super impressed with Christina Bergling’s first book, Savages. When she asked me if I would be interested in a copy of her new book The Waning for Confessions of a Reviewer I could not refuse. Repeat reviews for an author are a perk of running this type of blog. When you get writing as good as this, it turns out to be one of the best perks in the world.

Beatrix is a workaholic. At least until she gets her big break and earns her right to be a partner in the company. It looks like it could be on the cards if she lands this latest account. Her partner Lei is dreaming of the day it all falls in to place so they can finally stop hiding their romance and  announce to the world they are a couple. Beatrix seems to think that “coming out” would be a mistake before she gets her big break.

When the results of the negotiations come in, Beatrix could not be happier. All her dreams are coming true. She just cannot wait to get home and tell Lei.

As she is reaching her car in the car park, someone grabs her from behind. The next thing she knows, she is inside a metal cage in a dark, damp concrete cell.

This is the beginning of a horrific journey of self-discovery, self-preservation and the quest for simple answers such as who has taken her hostage and why?

INTERVIEW: CHRISTINA BERGLING: PART TWO

Welcome back to Part Two of Confessions of a Reviewer’s interview with Christina Bergling.

In tonight’s portion of the interview, Christina talks about her new book, The Waning, some more general questions and then finally takes on The Ten Confessions.

Tomorrow night I will be publishing my review of The Waning so please remember to come back for that.

As it’s Sunday, grab a glass of wine and a nice plate of Sunday roast and……enjoy!!

COAR - Moving on to “The Waning” – where did the idea come from for this one?

CB - The Waning was another instance where the idea just attacked me. I just started hearing the voice of the narrator in my head. I had some friends who were active in the BDSM community, and we were discussing the dynamics of their lifestyle a lot at the time. The psychological dynamic of submission fascinated me, but I didn’t want to write a 50 Shades of Grey flavored knock off.

I wanted to strip out the sex and examine the concept in a more extreme situation.

I also always wanted to try a blended narrative, both first and second person at the same time. The Master dynamic seemed like the perfect opportunity. Once the idea materialized in my head, the words just flowed.

The Waning started as a 15 page short entitled “Ode to Master,” in which it is basically a flash of the narrator in captivity with little to no backstory. After Savages was accepted for publication, I decided to push myself and develop the story into a full length novella.

INTERVIEW: CHRISTINA BERGLING: PART ONE

Christina Bergling is probably a new name to a lot of you. Her second book The Waning is due out on the 6^th July in eBook and paperback shortly after that.

She first caught my attention when I reviewed her first book Savages so I was delighted when she asked if I would also review The Waning, and even more delighted when she agreed to do an interview for Confessions.

Part One of the interview tonight sees Christina answer some general questions about herself and her writing. In Part Two, to be published tomorrow night, Christina will answer some specific questions on the new book and also take on the dreaded Ten Confessions. On night three I will be publishing my review of The Waning. Also, after noticing that I have never added my review of Savages to the blog, as a special treat, I will publish it on night four.

So as normal, sit back, grab yourself a beer and some pizza and most of all…..enjoy!

COAR - So tell everyone a bit about yourself in general?

CB - I’m a writer. That is the first thing that comes to mind when I try to describe myself. I have considered myself a writer since I was very young. I am also a mother. I have a great partner, Mike, and we have a four year-old daughter and ten month-old son. I am also a runner, and I love to dance. I try to keep myself pretty active because I really love food.

ANNOUNCEMENT: UPCOMING INTERVIEW WITH CHRISTINA BERGLING

I am very happy to announce that as part of her build up to the release of her new book The Waning, technical writer (you will find out what that is in the interview), mom and excellent writer of horror, Christina Bergling will be appearing on the blog later this week!

Saturday 4^th July will see an interview with Christina where she talks about her life, her writing and of course the new novella The Waning, being released on 6th July. Christina has had to put up with all her time spent at the day job, two young kids, and me pestering her non-stop for a couple of weeks but has still managed to come up with the goods for a very interesting interview for Confessions.

The interview will run for two nights with my review of The Waning coming on the release day 6^th July. As an extra treat, I will also be publishing my review of her first novella, Savages (which for some reason I never posted on the blog…..oops) on 7^th July.

Please pop along to the blog and show your support for a lady who makes her debut on Confessions of a Reviewer. I can assure you though, it will not be the last.

SHOW-OFF AND TELL #1 - William Malmborg - Blind Eye

Welcome to my first “Show-off and Tell” post.

If you aren’t sure what this is all about, it’s easy. I’m going to show-off and post pictures of the books and other stuff I have in my “signed” collection.

If you want more info and a little bit more detail, then head over to the “Show-off and Tell” page on the blog where I give a little bit more insight as to why I am doing this.

I decided to kick this one off with a book I received in the post last week from William Malmborg. It’s his new release Blind Eye. I haven’t even had the pleasure of reading this one yet but hope to in the next couple of weeks and fingers crossed I will also be able to include an interview with Mr Malmborg when I publish the review.