So Dead My Love by Patty G. Henderson

Publisher:            Black Car Publishing


(This was originally published under the title Blood Scent.)

The Karnov legend is that the "chosen one" will come to free Lara Karnov from a curse imposed by her vampire family and then she will rise to lead vampires into a new age. Lara has lain waiting for centuries and the time may have finally come.

Samantha Barnes has always known that she was different from other people. That is one reason why she chooses to live on an island off of the coast of Maine and be a semi-reclusive artist. When she is commissioned to do a mural for the local bank and begins to investigate the history of the island, she finds herself drawn to the creepy old Karnov Mansion. Samantha also finds herself drawn into an existence she never imagined and a love affair with a woman who wants her soul. But there is still a contact who holds her rooted in the "normal" world.

Carmen Montaya loves Samantha and would give anything to be her partner. She knows something is wrong with the strange visitor who has shown up at Samantha's and she's not going to give up Sam without a fight. Samantha is going to have to make some choices. Does she accept eternal life with Lara, bought at a terrible expense, or turn to the dedication and love that Carmen offers her? Is Samantha in fact the "chosen one?" The fact that she's not sure herself adds some suspense to the book.
 
Vampires exist by drinking blood; nothing changes that in So Dead, My Love. When Lara awakens, she has to feed and the island provides ample opportunities for that. The back blurb says that "even among vampires…there is good and there is evil." Where that line falls is not very clear in this story. Lara Karnov performs acts that are decidedly evil and leads Samantha into activities that should have her conscience in a turmoil forever, although there is a twist at the end that might be considered redeeming. This is the first book in a trilogy, so the role of the Karnovs might become more clear as the series progresses. There were a number of editing errors that should have been caught, especially in a book that is a second edition, but they don't detract from the story much. If you're a fan of vampire novels, you might want to give this one a try.

Day of the Dead by Victoria A. Brownworth

Publisher:                 Spinsters Ink

If you're of a persuasion to like stories about vampires, succubi and other things that go bump in the night, this is the book for you.

Day of the Dead is a collection of stories in the supernatural genre.  The book consists of five short stories and a novella that are most often set in New Orleans.  Some characters appear in more than one story, but all of the works stand alone.  Vampires are the most common topic, showing them at their most seductiveness.  Hurricane Katrina factors into more than one of the stories showing that nature can be the most horrifying character of all.

People who like their creatures really scary won't find that here.  If anything, what will terrify you is the idea of walking through the fog based on what keeps coming out of it in these stories.  A couple of the stories aren't clear about what exactly the supernatural entity is and the vampire stories are definitely more loaded in the sexuality of the situation than the blood-letting.  Certainly the most evocative selection is "Diary of a Drowning" about a woman who decides to stay in New Orleans during the hurricane.  Some of the stories drag along and the reader may get impatient to find out how they end.  The good thing about this type of book is that you can read one story, move on to something else and return to read another story.

An anthology makes it difficult for a reader to connect with characters that appear and disappear in a hurry.  If you are a fan of this genre though and are looking for some stories to read each night before bedtime, this book will meet that need and they're tame enough that you won't have to worry about nightmares.

Chilling Tales of Horror and the Supernatural by Patty G. Henderson (editor)

Publisher:                  P. D. Publishing


Editor's Warning: The reading and enjoyment of this anthology will greatly increase your chances of terrifying nightmares, lack of sleep and fear of your own shadow.

That warning plus one look at the cover picture will tell the reader that this is not meant to be a typical lesbian anthology. No tender scenes of romance, unless you find someone biting your neck and sucking out all of your blood charming. No thrilling adventure, unless you find a monster out of hell chasing you to your death exciting. There is humor in a macabre sort of way. Some of the resolutions of the stories are such fitting punishments or so bizarre that the reader will probably laugh. If you don't chuckle at the end of the first story, you're already taking these stories too seriously.

Patty G. Henderson has brought together some of her stories with the work of Mark Apoapsis, Victor J. Banis, Barbara L. Clanton, Moondancer Drake, Amy J. Ira, Crystal Michallet-Romero, Paul Milliken, Rick R. Reed, Hayden Thorne, Fran Walker and MJ Williamz. Some of them, like Henderson, have had books and stories in print and others are using this as their way to break into the medium. The stories are written as "flash fiction," which puts an interesting constraint on the writer. The plot and characters have to be developed in 1000 words or less, which is just slightly more than two pages. Not much room is available, so the writer is forced to condense and intensify everything.

Some of the stories are more successful than others. Several of the stories are so short they're like the authors shouting "Boo" at you, only in a few more words. There are tales of vampires, ghosts and succubi; rotting bodies, boogeymen and inhuman behavior; lost loves and vengeful love. The stories are short enough that, if you just have a few minutes, you can read a couple and put the book down until later. The book's major drawback is the problem of all anthologies. The stories are not uniform in quality. Many are extremely well written with interesting characters or viewpoints, making the reader wish that a longer format had been used so that the story had gone on. Others are flat and not very inspired. Then there are the one or two that may make the reader glad that the author doesn't live next door.
 
Does the book live up to the Editor's Warning? The stories themselves are not particularly scary, although a couple of them may make the reader shiver. The real terror in the story usually comes from the fear the character is feeling as the horror unfolds or in realizing the evil that humans can unleash on each other. Some of the stories aren't frightening as much as they are poignant. However, the cover of the book is almost guaranteed to cause you some discomfort. It's meant to be a fun read and it is.