Win an Amazon Gift Card!

I'm looking for someone to create the cover art (preferably digital or photographed) for my upcoming high seas thriller, On Deadly Seas. It's an 18th century pirate ghost story. Summary of the book is as follows:

Strange things happen aboard the 18^th century brigantine, The Fiery Wench. Accidents occur quite frequently; crew men are killed off in horrific ways; and visitors have reported seeing the ghosts of those tortured souls warning them of worse things to come. Pirate Captain Aiden McGuire never believed in curses and he would have anyone whipped who even suggested the idea. It’s only when young Jaclyn steals away aboard his ship that one misfortune after another befalls him and his crew. The decks of The Fiery Wench, for the first time since he became captain, start to flow red from the blood of his men. Is his stowaway a Siren who has come aboard to tear apart his vessel, or is she an innocent caught in a game of tragedy? Only time will tell as this ship sets sail ON DEADLY SEAS.

THE PRIZE: $50 AMAZON GIFT CARD

CONTEST RULES:

Winner will be selected on April 2, 2019 and announced via my email list, . The prize will be emailed within 5 business days. Winner must check our blog and contact us within 2 business days to confirm their email address for delivery. Valid only where permitted by law.

HOW TO ENTER:

1. Answer this question in a comment on this blog post: Why should I choose your cover art?

2. Like Screams for Sale on Facebook and share it with a friend.

3. Follow me on Twitter @shelbypatrick

4. Subscribe to my email list at darkfictionmuse-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

5. Email up to three of your best cover artwork to blackwidow@shelbypatrick.com

Winning entry will be used as the cover art for my book. Artist will be credited on the inside of the book. 

Love Gone Awry

2019 is just around the corner. It's not too early to start planning for Valentine's Day and I have the perfect gift.

Have you always wanted to be the star of your own story? Do any of the following apply to you?

• Been scarred by love
• Had a scorned woman try to exact revenge on you
• Lost the love of your life
• Dumped or been dumped but then reunited with that person and realized they weren't the same
• Been blinded by love
• Went a little too far for love
• Had regrets with a past lover
• Will never forget your first love
• Found true love that only a tragedy could stop

Well here's a unique opportunity to be the hero (or villain) of your own making.

I will write a piece of dark fiction, up to 1,000 words, based on your "Love Gone Awry" idea.

Send me an email at blackwidow@shelbypatrick.com with the subject "Custom V-Day Story" briefly summarizing your idea in 100 words or less. Since this is meant to be a horror story for the Valentine's season, please let me know if you want to be the hero or the villain and provide me with a location (preferably your own or some place you always wanted to go but isn't too exotic). Also, please provide two names to be used in the story: yours (or an alias) and that of a loved one.

For example, your email may look like this:

I would like a custom story featuring me as the hero, where I was foolish and lost the love of my life and now realize my life is incomplete without him/her.

 

OR

 

I would like a custom story featuring me as the villain, in post-apocalyptic California, where Necromancers roam the place, seeking out depressed souls to reunite with loved ones.

Stories cost $30, paid via PayPal, and will be sent to you via email. Please allow up to three weeks for turn-around time. 

Buyers must agree to allow their story, or a portion of it, to be posted at my website, blog, or in a future anthology.

Touching Evil by Kay Hooper: Book Review

Touching Evil: A Review

by Alina Jackson

Touching Evil tells the tale of Maggie Barnes, a telepathic police sketch artist that is determined to stop the evil that is terrorizing the streets of Seattle.   Knowing that it will be her personal responsibility to stop this madness, Maggie puts herself in life threatening situations.  With no clues or description of the perpetrator she must rely on her own special talents and the information a blinded victim can recall.  While pursuing the mad man she meets John Garrett, a self-assured successful business man, who finds it hard to believe in Maggie’s talents but begins to fall deeply in love with her.  As time progresses John becomes more convinced that Maggie is in serious danger.  Since no new leads develop,  John, with the help of the lead investigator, convince the Chief of Police to call in the little known special unit of the FBI to help end this terror.  Can this psychopath be caught before the evil touches more of Seattle’s young women and destroys the woman he loves? 

The opening prologue grabbed me from the first sentence but as the chapters continued I found it harder to get excited about the story. I kept turning the pages but I think that was due more to my determination than the thrill of the story. The characters in the story were flat. The supporting characters lacked depth to the point that I often forgot who they were and why they were there, making it necessary to go back a few pages to refresh my memory.  John Garrett, the love interest, seemed nice enough but I wanted to fall in love with him.  I knew little about his personality except that he didn’t believe that it was possible to possess any of the paranormal talents described in the story.  I would have liked to know where he came from and what drove him to be successful.  John and Maggie’s relationship could have used a more in-depth description.  What about John did Maggie love?  What about Maggie, other than her talents, did John love, hate, or fear?   Also, Maggie’s brother Beau added little to the story and didn’t show a side of Maggie that made her seem more real.  I was puzzled why he was even mentioned.  Then the villain came out of no-where.  It felt as though it was an afterthought where the author had to find a way to end the tale.  All I could think about was if John was a powerful and smart business man then why didn’t he see anything unusual when his sister became a widow?   The story ended with too many questions left unanswered.