I have TikTok!

I’ve loved exploring social media and meeting writers, so I decided to jump onto TikTok and give it a try! Hop over to TikTok and follow me @nicobellfiction for the fun!

Here is my most watched video:

Anndddddd….here is my least watched video :)

And now, I present my favorite video I made so far:

June Book Reviews!

June Book Reviews!

Wow...

This book...

Okay, let me start by saying I'd seen this book all over Twitter and Instagram. I didn't really know what to expect other than it was a popular book being read by a lot of reviewers, so it must be engaging. What I got was so much more. Ward is putting on a clinic for writers. The writing, the plot, the characters, the twist...Holy guacamole the twists!! It's a dark book with really intense topics, and every time I assumed I knew what was happening, I was proven wrong. It's a book the explores mental illness.

It sticks with you.

Honestly, it wasn't at all what I was expecting, and that's always a pleasant surprise. If you like unsettling horror, this is for you! all over Twitter and Instagram. I didn't really know what to expect other than it was a popular book being read by a lot of reviewers, so it must be engaging. What I got was so much more. Ward is putting on a clinic for writers. The writing, the plot, the characters, the twist...Holy guacamole the twists!! It's a

CW: Child abuse and child death

After getting caught up in a tragic accident, Stephen Barber is eager to move on with his life. Except, the past won't die. Stephen is the target of a century old curse that is slowing transforming him into something unrecognizable. It's up to his wife Moira to piece together the puzzle and save him before it's too late.

Generous writes a quick paced, high tension horror that will have readers glued to the page. Despite Stephen's poor judgement and inexcusable actions revolving around the accident, he exhibits remorse and guilt, casting him as a sympathetic protagonist. The punishment of his actions is harsh, and centers on a mystery a hundred years in the making. His punishment involves a transformation that is unique and thrilling. There are some vivid scenes of violence* related to the backstory of the curse, but the majority of the horror falls in the "weird" category, which makes it a lot of fun to read.

Readers looking for a fast fulfilling horror read with a sympathetic protagonist will love this book!

*CW: rape, child death

Eric LaRocca weaves a fast paced story of obsession and twisted love in this weird-fiction horror novella. Two women meet through an internet chat room and begin exchanging harmless emails. Things progress rapidly and the women begin talking more frequently, revealing their own secret desires. What started out as a simple friendship quickly spirals into madness leaving the reader wondering, "What the hell did I just read?"

Zoe and Anges are well-developed characters who instantly capture the reader's focus. While their tone is a bit overly formal at times (even in the context as strangers on the internet), they each compliment the other's needs and secret desires. These two were made for each other- until they weren't.

This short novella packs a lot of tension and sorrow, a mix of empathy and despair, all within the confines of emails and Instant Messages (remember those, kids?). LaRocca masters the art of storytelling within the experimental story telling structure. He holds nothing back, which allows the reader to experience a wealth of emotions as the relationship between these two women takes several unexpected twists and turns.

Readers who love Palahniuk will devour LaRocca's story of infatuation.

The Despicable Fantasies of Quentin Sergenov Kindle Edition by Preston Fassel #BookReview

Book Description:

His name was Quentin Sergenov - the unexpected hero of the 90s wrestling scene. A middle-aged bruiser called up to the big leagues on the eve of what should’ve been his retirement, his story of late-in-life success and can-do attitude won the hearts of fans all over the world- and the heart of Wave, his in-ring rival. The two shared a forbidden love that was doomed from the start; but the end of their affair would prove to be the beginning of something terrible for Quentin…

His name is Quentin Sergenov - recluse, artist, romantic. Something happened to Quentin after he was cast out of the wrestling world: something that left him less—and more—than human. Now that he’s been given a second chance, Quentin is about to go on a quest—one that will find him crossing paths with Nazi scientists, internet celebrities, sci-fi groupies, and bodybuilding CEOs. It’s a quest to reunite with Wave and finally take back what was stolen from them; and the results will be as gruesome as they are hilarious…

4 Star Book Review

Every once in a while, I come across a diamond in the rough that makes me say, “I didn’t know I needed a book about wrestlers, Nazis, twisted love, and dinosaurs, but thank goodness it exists!”

This book is B-O-N-K-E-R-S in the best possible way! Fassel’s fast-paced sci-fi horror mashup is a perfect escape from reality. Quentin is a trouble protagonist with love and career success on his mind. The poor, um, “guy” can’t catch a break, and he ends up alone, longing for companionship, devising a rather twisted plot to fulfill his need. There’s a dash of gore for the horror fans, some unusual technology for the sci-fi lovers, and enough wresting references to appease the biggest Sasha Banks fan.

But if wrestling isn’t your thing, don’t worry. All readers will quickly sink into this bizarre reality, eagerly soaking up the vivid descriptions and unsavory characters until the final moments. While some may feel this book ended a bit abruptly, that just means the imaginative plot did its job of captivating an audience. Readers who have been sinking into the Rewind or Die series will easily make the transition to Fassel’s novel which has the same campy vibe. This is an author to watch!

Buy the book here!

Slasher Crasher by David Nora #BookReview

RATING: 5 STARS

SUMMARY:

It was the night HE tried to go home...but got caught in THEIR drama...

It’s Halloween. Nick Roesch, a towering figure of evil and stupidity, escapes from the upstate New York mental hospital he’s been committed to for the past five years. Planning to return to his childhood home, where he brutally murdered his babysitter’s boyfriend, his plans are halted when he crosses paths with an even more terrifying beast—two high school friends with some serious beef. Caught in a battle of loyalty that has been brewing for ten years of their friendship, the two girls, Kathleen Strife and Betsy Coleman, force the feud into a savage showdown, pitting the escaped monster against each other. Who will survive this epic deathmatch, and is it totally wrong to fall in love with the murderous lunatic who just tried to kill your ex-best friend with a machete?

Book Review

I’ve been craving a comedic horror read and Slasher Crasher didn’t disappoint. An escaped lunatic? Teenage drama? Epic deathmatch? Sign me up! From the first page to the last sentence, this book is a juicy festival of gore, perfect for slasher fans.  It playfully embraces classic horror tropes, tips its hat to iconic horror movies and references the soundtrack of my youth. What’s not to love?

Sure, this book revolves around a psychopath murdering everyone in site, but at the heart of Slasher Crasher are three teenagers coming of age, dealing with boy drama, bullying and absente parents. They must face Nick, the monster, as well as their own inner demons in order to become the ‘Final Girl’, a trope horror fans know and love. Each character arc undergoes a transformation fitting and realistic to their characters. In addition to the main cast, there’s an array of supporting characters, including Nick’s doctor (who could have walked straight out of The Exorcist and into this book), Betsy dad who is a recovered alcoholic, and a cast of homophobic bullies who make poor David’s life a living hell.

While the main theme of the book lies around the final girl trope, religion plays an interesting role in the plot. One of the police officers insists on ending every conversation with “praise be to God”, an interesting little quirk for an arguably insignificant character. But it adds to the character developments, especially Betsy and her father, who struggle with their faith. And, of course, Nick’s doctor is certain that Nick is no mere mortal, but the Devil arriving in their town to raise hell.

But don’t worry. There’s nothing preaching about this book. It’s a horror novel to it’s core complete with tales of Nick’s sadism that will make your stomach churn. But what makes it powerful is that it doesn’t stop with external horrors, but explores the things that scare us all. Loneliness, jealousy, abandonment, the fear we aren’t good enough and never will be. So while on the surface, this is a teenage slasher with a final girl theme, underneath it’s a brilliant tale of courage and self discovery, even if those realizations lead us down a dangerous path.

This is easily one of my favorite books of 2019, and an absolute must read. Buy it here!

Paperback: 358 pages

Publisher: Black Rose Writing; First Printing ed. edition (August 22, 2019)

ISBN-10: 1684333288

ISBN-13: 978-1684333288

Should Books Have Ratings?

It’s a discussion that keeps coming up. With movies, TV shows, music and video games already under the umbrella of a ratings system, why not books? Would it be beneficial for readers, especially tweens? Or is it one step away from censorship and book burning parties?

First, it’s important to realize that there is a difference between ratings and censorship. Censorship involves altering or eliminating content while ratings involve classifying content based on some sort of standard. When we’re talking about rating media, we’re referring to the process of an independent group such as Common Sense Media which scores books based on several elements including violence, sex and nudity, educational value, and profanity.

So what are the advantages and disadvantages to applying a rating system to literature? Let’s take a look at the issue from both sides.

Pro Ratings

In 2012, a professor at Brigham Young University's department of family life, named Sarah Coyne, conducted a study suggesting adding a rating to book covers, specifically of young adult books. She claims that this would “empower” parents to make thoughtful and wise decisions in regards to what their young children (ages 9 - 12) should be reading.

That doesn’t sounds so bad. Many parents already monitor their children’s media content, using pre-existing ratings to determine if a movie or TV show is appropriate. I know plenty of parents who have guided their children toward more child-friendly content based on the small rating box in the corner of a video game.

But I can understand how supporting a rating system could spiral out of control. Remember book burning? But maybe if society learns to separate ratings and censorship, there could be a way to please those who benefit from ratings while avoiding censorship.

Editor and writer Rachel Manwill’s article WARNING: On YA, Ratings, and Censorship doesn’t support censorship, but does challenge people to consider a rating system claiming, “The ratings themselves are not a form of censorship; the stores and booksellers that would use those ratings to restrict purchases – they are the ones guilty of censorship. The ratings are NOT. “

Valid point. We know To Kill A Mockingbird was banned from schools based on content. It was the adults and school systems that decided to ban it, along with The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and even Harry Potter got backlash thanks to some Christian parents who felt the witchcraft premise might not be appropriate for their children.

The ratings aren’t the problem. It’s how we handle the ratings that is the concern. So why should people who want the ratings suffer because some people take it too far?

Against Ratings

Well, some people will suffer because people take it too far. At least, that’s one of the anti-ratings arguments. If we were to rate To Kill A Mockingbird “R” based on theme and content, what would happen?

Scenario One - Parents would be allowed to decide if their child can handle the content. Some teenagers might be more mature and advanced than others, and their parents may decide to allow their children to read this book. Others, may decline. And that would be the end of the story.

Scenario Two - Parents would rally together, citing an “R” rating as completely inappropriate for their teenager’s English class. The book would get banned.

See the concern?

The National Coalition Against Censorship argues this exact point, that public education would suffer and what starts out as an innocent request for ratings would end in censorship.

Writer Lauren Davis examines the issue in her article The Thriving Industry That Helps Encourage Book Censorship. She states “rating services tend to boil content down into overly simplified categories, with bullet points that can at times read less as thoughtful dissection of the texts than as a warning to parents.”

Also a valid point. The violence and racism in To Kill A Mockingbird wasn’t frivolous, but if a parent who never read the book were to look at a bulleted list of “questionable” content found within the book, they might be quick to write it off before giving it a chance. And where would we be without books like the ones on the banned list?

My Opinion

I wish there were a way to have ratings without censorship. As a book reviewer, I can’t tell you how many times I wished I knew what trigger warnings were in a book before I started reading. But yes, that means I would have cut those books off my to-be read list. And to be completely honest, I refuse to read certain books with specific triggers. Some books just aren’t for me, and if possible, I appreciate the heads up.

But as a writer, I want to be able to write whatever I want without fear that someone will rally against my work and deem it unfit for the masses. I care deeply about my stories and my characters. They have purpose and meaning, and it would be discouraging to have my work boiled down to bullet points from Common Sense Media.

So I’m somewhere in the middle.

Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.

The Haunted Forest Tour #bookreview

Summary

Bram Stoker Award nominees James A. Moore (BLOOD RED) and Jeff Strand (PRESSURE) join forces for this 87,000-word action-packed, gore-drenched monster extravaganza.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Haunted Forest Tour!

Sit back and enjoy a smooth ride in air-conditioned comfort as your heavily armored tram takes you through nature’s most astonishing creation. The forest is packed to capacity with dangerous and terrifying creatures of all shapes, sizes, and hunger levels, and you’ll get to observe these wonders in complete safety.

Howl with a werewolf! Gaze into the glowing eyes of a giant spider! Look right through a spooky ghost! See horrific monsters you couldn’t even imagine, only inches away from you! Things with fangs, things with claws, things with dripping red jaws—you’ll see them all!

Not thrilling enough? Well, it’s Halloween, and so we’re offering a very special tour through the Haunted Forest. The new route goes deeper into the woods than any civilians have ventured before, and you’re guaranteed to get a good scare! Rest assured that every possible security precaution has been taken. The Haunted Forest Tour has a 100% safety record, and technical difficulties are unheard of. You will be in no danger whatsoever.

We promise.

Review

Wow. Get ready for an insane adventure through the scariest forest on Earth. With an incredible story world and intense plot, The Haunted Forest Tour digs it’s claws into you from the first page until the last.

I had no idea what direction the story would take and the suspense never let up. A forest magically appears in the middle of New Mexico but why and how? It seems the characters care less about these reasons and more about what lurks within the darkness. Monsters. And lots of them. Every monster you can possibly imagine, and many you’ve never considered imagining, dwell within the thick trees and if you’re one of the lucky few, you can take a tram ride through the madness.

And it’s perfectly safe. No deaths, no injuries, no worries.

Until Halloween.

Hell, literally, breaks loose. The monsters attack and slaughter, claw and dismember. This novel isn’t for the weak stomach as blood, guts and gore line the pages. Many people die, including two incidents of child death, so keep that in mind before embarking on this haunted adventure.

The pace doesn’t stop. At one point, I had to set the book down just to catch my breath. Each character is thrown into the worst case scenario only to find out that things can, and do, get worse. Christopher is the lead protagonist, and I admired his evolution from a disgruntled employee to monster killer. Many other characters had equally satisfying and well developed arcs that made me cheer them on as they battled snakes, dragons, aliens and demons. Even grumpy and self-centered tram driver Eddie, who is arguably the least likeable character, managed to win me over as the story progressed.

I only had one main concern. I didn’t love how the majority of females were portrayed in this novel. They are constantly being objectified by the men in their lives. Even when the shit hits the fan, a male character finds a moment of peace by checking out a woman’s chest. Also, when the haunted tour tram gets stuck on the track, in the middle of the forest, and it’s clear that they are in trouble, the female tour guide hands out weapons to men. Only men. She’s told to scout the tram and look for people who can help defend the passengers, who can use a gun, who are able to step up. And she scouts males. In my opinion, only one female had grit. Tina, who was a passenger on the haunted tour, proved to hold her own. Otherwise, I grew tired of men starting at women’s chests, or thinking about how they’d be in bed.

But this book holds nothing back in terms of action, imagination and horror. You’ll be chewing down your nails and holding your breath as you devour this manuscript in one sitting. The twists keep you guessing and the end will turn your stomach in the best way. I hope this gets made into a movie one day. It’d be a terrifying good time.

This book is available at: Amazon I Kobo (Audio version)

Book Review: Game Changers of the Apocalypse by Mark Kirkbride

Back of the Book Summary:

It’s always the end of the world when you break up with someone. This time it really is…

Everyone on the planet has mysteriously disappeared, leaving exes Greg and Polly. They’ve survived the apocalypse, yet shouldn’t have. Battling each other and a malevolent entity that teases them with their fate, how long can they remain ahead? Even more terrifying than everyone else on the planet disappearing is what’s about to take their place…

3 Star Review:

Game Changers of the Apocalypse is a fun chase through the apocalypse. Interesting and bizarre twists keep the reader engaged, but there were some problems with character development and pacing that kept this book from reaching its full potential.

Greg is a solid protagonist. He’s thrown into impossible situations and proves to be an intelligent and resourceful asset. Too bad his girlfriend Polly is so annoying. Greg is the driving force within the relationship and constantly does all the heavy lifting to keep them alive while the world falls apart.

Polly is one of my major problems with this book. I love a strong heroine, with intelligence, independence and grit. She possesses none of these skills. Polly complains. A lot. And she’s highly emotional and irrational. They’re in the middle of the apocalypse and she puts their lives in danger due to her anger over Greg’s commitment issues. There’s a scene where Greg crashes their car into a jewelry store while zombies are chasing them. Now, you’d think the next move would be to find another mode of transportation and get out of harm’s way. That’s Greg’s plan. What does Polly do? She throws a hissy fit and walks down into the subway to wait for a train. Yup, she goes underground where there’s no exits.

Because she’s angry that Greg didn’t realize how upset she’d be that he crashed into a jewelry store.

Where they sell wedding rings.

Because she wants to get married and decides that moment is the best to bring it up.

As a female reader, I despised Polly and how impractical she was in basically every scenario. It is frustrating to see a female portrayed as the “damsel in distress”, especially in today’s social climate. I wanted to see her kicking zombie butt, coming up with a plan, taking control. But that was all Greg’s doing. She just huffed and puffed and complained. By the end, I was routing for her death.

But let’s talk plot. It isn’t a cookie cutter end of the world story. There are zombies, but these aren’t your typical zombies and that was a pleasant surprise. There are so many clever twists within this story. Some seem a little far-fetched, but I didn’t mind stretching the boundaries of my imagination. It has religious overtones, but it wasn’t preachy or overtly religious. The ideas of the book mixed horror and religion in a way that they balanced each other in a way I found intriguing. There’s questions about death, the afterlife, and free will all bundled together while Greg and Polly run for their lives.

But there is a lot of running. So much running. Too much.

Let me break it down by parts.

Part one set an eerie story world where only Greg and Polly survived the apocalypse. We don’t know why they were selected to live, or if it were some mistake that they outwitted death, but they are desolate and alone. Some of this part was realistic while other times I struggled to believe their actions. They didn’t do a whole lot of searching for other survivors, having accepted rather quickly that they were the only two left on the Earth.

And then there’s the ear on the building.

And a security camera that seems to follow their movements.

These are the first hints that something is amiss, but the big problem with this novel is pacing and “action / reaction structure”. When we discover that an ear – and actual human ear – is growing from a building, we expect answers. We’re not given any. The very next chapter is a time jump and Greg and Polly keep living life as if the ear never existed. I feel that was a missed opportunity to keep the tension growing.

Part Two is the zombie phase, which is high action from chapter to chapter. They’re running all over London with little hope of escape. Frankly, it becomes redundant and while I was engaged in the first few chapters of this portion, I realized quickly that Greg and Polly were only going to be doing the exact same thing but in different locations. Run to a new place, zombies attack, run new place, zombies attack…Except for the few whining fits of Polly, which seem entirely inappropriate, this part was redundant. I started skimming.

Part Three and Part Four tie up the book, so I won’t give those away, but the ebb and flow aren’t much better in these sections. And there was a part at the end that I was thoroughly confused about because it was completely skipped over.

But the concept of this book was cool. So many cool ideas laid within these pages that even though I had issues with the structure of the story and Polly as a female lead, I still found myself enjoying the story world created. Give it a try and let me know what you think. 3 stars.