Whenever my daughter, Amber, hands me a new anthology she has a story in I know I'm in for a spine chilling smorgasbord, a horror feast, a volume I can read only in the daytime because if I tried after darkness falls I'd have nightmares…if I could even get to sleep.
The latest is Writers Retreat: Tales of Writing and Madness. It's a volume in which horror writers give us a look at what about their craft keeps them awake in the shadowed wee hours before dawn. And it goes far beyond writer's block.
*How about the laptop on which you do your writing becoming taken over by a malevolent entity intent on destroying your work?
*How about the plight of a woman who bases her characters on her children and their friends when she tries to read her daughter's new electronic diary?
*How about a rural farmhouse billed as a writer's retreat that would make the Bates Motel of Psycho notoriety look like five star lodgings?
*How about the deranged stalker fan who won't wait to find out how the story ends?
and *What about the truly gruesome price a writer in a haunted cabin must pay for inspiration?
Those are just some of the truly terrifying scenarios served up the scary smorgasbord that is Writers Retreat. If you are a true hard core scary story fan you don't want to miss out. But you might want to do your reading in the daylight before darkness falls and creatures of the night slither and slink through your back yard, headlights of passing cars make scary shadows, and your house makes mystery sounds that send shivers down your spine.
Just saying.
On a purrrsonal note, it's a bright, sunny day here in Penobscot County, Maine. Soon I'll be heading off to do some work in Orono Community Garden and swap out books at the library.
A great big shout out goes out to my Amber and the other talented writers who contributed to the truly addictive horror fest.
Jules Hathaway
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