Monthly Archives: March 2012
{Guest} J T Baroni
Read A Spooky Ghost Story And Help Sponsor a Leader Dog!
Hello! And a big thanks to Rebeka for having me as a guest on her beautiful blog!
I am pleased to announce that my book, The Legend of Rachel Petersen, has been released through Damnation Books, and I plan on donating a portion of my book’s proceeds to The Leader Dogs for the Blind, located in Rochester Hills, Michigan. This organization has been training Leader Dogs and placing them with blind people, free of charge, since 1939, and they have achieved this amazing feat all from donations.
I know all too well, both their generosity and the impact of their invaluable services. Furthering that statement, I also understand first handedly how strongly the visually impaired faithfully depend, trust, and rely on their dogs, whereas my older brother, Gene, has been blind since birth, and is on his third canine companion. As kids, my brother and I were constantly hand in hand. We went everywhere together. I was, in fact, Gene’s first Leader Dog!
JT and his brother Gene with his faithful Leader Dog
We don’t get to visit each other as often as we would like, since Gene resides three hundred miles away in Philadelphia. However, the times I have visited my brother, I was impressed on how well Gene’s dog guided his blind master through the streets of The City of Brotherly Love. It’s absolutely amazing how smart these animals are. The people in Michigan do a fantastic job in training these Leader Dogs. Valor, Gene’s latest dog, is a beautiful Black Labrador Retriever, and when my brother puts the harness on Valor, that dog knows it is time to work. He even seems to enjoy riding the subway.
I live in a rural area of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and being the avid outdoorsman that I am, I spend a great deal of time in the woods, mostly within walking distance of my home. Last year, I came upon a lone grave in the woods, which inspired my paranormal tale. From years of weathering, the inscription was barely legible, it read, “Rachel Peterson, 1801 to 1899”. I changed the spelling of the last name and made my ghost character a young girl, which I feel gives the story a more realistic touch, while making the tale that much spookier.
But what is really ironic, and eerily enough, my story revolves around 39-year-old sports writer Christian Kane, who becomes outraged when The Pittsburgh Post Gazette overlooks him for a well-deserved promotion. Kane quits the Paper and moves to the country to write fiction. Inspiration flows from a grave he stumbles upon in the woods, with the headstone having the dates 1851 to 1863, which means the girl died during the Civil War. He is then compelled to pen “The Legend of Rachel Petersen”, a fascinating and horrific story based on the dead twelve-year-old girl laid to rest beneath the weathered tombstone. His book quickly climbs the Best Seller lists; then Hollywood makes it in to a blockbuster movie. Kane becomes rich and famous, but only to have Rachel rise from the grave, seeking revenge on him for slandering her name! Or does she?
The Legend of Rachel Petersen is available both as an e-file at Damnation Books, http://www.damnationbooks.com/people.php?author=135, or in paperback at your favorite online bookstore such as Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/Legend-Rachel-Petersen-J-T-Baroni/dp/1615725431, or visit my website, www.jtbaroni.com and check out my movie trailer on YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVOmw2vH4gg. However, I forewarn any potential readers, I wrote this story with a mature audience in mind; it does contain adult content, and one scene in particular may be disturbing for young readers. Two specific stories majorly influenced my plot structure, The Devil’s Advocate and The Sixth Sense; both of which are my all time favorite movies. Therefore, two unforeseen twists come out of nowhere at the end of the story and smack you upside the head.
I would like to graciously thank everyone who helps support my cause; raising a puppy to Leader Dog status is extremely expensive, averaging forty five thousand dollars per sponsored dog.
In conclusion, thanks again for having me, Rebeka! You are a gracious hostess!
Note from Rebeka
I am so pleased to assist Jim and his worthy cause and encourage everyone to give this book a chance. Two thumbs up to Jim!
The Daily Death
The Daily Death by Thomas Scopel
Dennis glanced at his watch again and pushed the future T-bone steak filled slab into the saw blade and quickly felt his lack of concentration mistake as the blurring saw sliced fast and deep halfway through his wrist.
Numbness developed in his fingertips and his forearm muscles flexed. He immediately and instinctively pulled his hand back, but with his wrist cut so deep, control was lost and the pulling motion caused an opposite effect, widening the gash and turning his now nearly severed hand back into the non-stopping blade. The saw took full advantage and finish slicing through the remaining wrist bones and Dennis’s hand removed completely from his arm.
He stumbled backwards. The saw blades red teeth reverberated against bone for a few seconds, caught hold of loose flesh and yanked the appendage up, gruesomely wedging it in place. The blade continued chattering through the fleshy portion of the palm, metallically giggling and grinding against bone.
With blood spurting a considerable distance from the end forearm, shock filled Dennis and he began to feel weak and dropped to his knees.
Dennis lie there, unable to move and hoping desperately that a customer would ring the assistance doorbell, glance in though the swinging doors small scratched window, take notice of his plight and quickly fetch help. But, they didn’t.
Available for Purchase
Tamed
Tamed by Douglas R Brown
Werewolves are real.
And they make excellent pets.
Owning one of the legendary creatures is the latest fad. The WereHouse insists werepets are loyal, docile, and 100% safe, but what happens when these gentle giants turn on their masters?
While on a routine EMS call, paramedic Christine Alt is attacked by a rogue werepet. She escapes with her life, but the encounter leaves her with more than just scars. As her body begins to change, she discovers The WereHouse is hiding a terrible secret, and they will stop at nothing to keep her from exposing them.
Available for Purchase
Paperback & Ebook
KONY 2012 – The Invisible Children
Take 30 mins out of your day and watch the video first.
Some time ago my alter ego “Bektamun” made the assertion that there is no justice in the world, and perhaps “Some People Deserve To Die.” Well after watching the above video, I tend to agree with her.
Children, no matter where they live, deserve to live in a world without fear of:
- being abducted from their home
- forced into sexual slavery
- coerced into becoming child soldiers
- subjected to inhumane treatment, or worse, inflicting it on others
Join me in supporting the The Invisible Children. Together our voices can be heard and the world will have justice.
Show Your Support
Join TRI or Donate to Invisible Children: http://bit.ly/yp5Ffv
Purchase KONY 2012 products: http://invisiblechildrenstore.myshopify.com/
Sign the Pledge: http://www.causes.com/causes/227-invisible-children
Vampire Month
This month, good friend and fellow author D A Lascelles is celebrating ‘Vampire Month‘.
Yours truly features this week with an interview and guest post scheduled for later in the week.
Over the coming month I will be joined by fellow vampire afficionados Ninfa Hayes and Skyla Dawn. Each of us with distinctly different opinions about vampires, and why we write about them.
So head on over to Lurking Musings and sink your teeth into some great vampire fun.
Also this month, Angelic Knight Press have featured me in an article.
Jealousy – A Force for Evil
A bitch called Jealousy
There are many things in life open to subjective perception. You know, ‘one man’s meat is another man’s poison‘ type of things. Beauty, taste, style, talent, entertainment all can be very subjective from one person to the next.
Given that I own and manage a small entertainment agency, I am acutely aware of the varying degrees of people’s choice and preferences. After all ‘variety is the spice of life‘.
Now before I drag out another overdone proverb or cliche, let’s get down to it.
Recently two freelance entertainers decided the time had come to make a major push. As part of this they entered into an exlusive contract with my company. All good so far. Until…. Enter: the bitch called ‘jealousy.’
Jealousy appeared in the guise of a freelance entertainer from interstate. Jealousy was supremely confident that we mere mortals in Melbourne had seen nothing like her, that she would conquer all and reign supreme.
Cut to: contract entertainer #1. Bright, young and gorgeous. Amazing response from clients and an act to knock your socks off.
Jealousy was furious! Who was this young upstart? Why was Jealousy being passed over for bookings?
Let me explain to you Jealousy how things work.
- I’ve seen it all and you are nothing new, despite what you may think
- As an agent my priorities will always first and foremost be to any contract entertainers. They get priority promotion, marketing and booking.
- If clients aren’t asking for you I’m not going to force the issue and risk losing customers.
- Until you can prove to me you can be in two places at once, then I’m afraid I can’t book you if you have prior commitments.
This dose of reality was hard for Jealousy to swallow. What does a fury-filled harpie such as Jealousy do when confronted with the truth? They go on a smear campaign.
Jealousy has gone on a major rampage trying to damage her ‘rivals‘, which has won her no friends, subsequently ruining what was left of her professional reputation.
Enough about Jealousy, she is a trumped up drama-queen and we should waste no more time thinking about her.
However, this did get me to thinking about some of the dirty tricks writers and authors use in trying to ‘one-up‘ against their competition. Such as leaving bogus bad reviews on Amazon etc, trolling forums to point out mistakes made and more and worse.
This big ol’ crazy world called cyberspace has more than enough room for everyone. Even you; paranoid, self-absorbed, egocentric, talentless waste of space Jealousy. What you need to remember, if you’re going to throw mud, expect to get dirty.
ReVamped
ReVamped by Ada Adams
Nineteen-year-old vampire Dawn has led a sheltered life within the confines of her father’s presidential headquarters. Upon being sent on a mission to revamp four goofy misfits into guardians of a peaceful little town of Angel Creek, Dawn believes that all her dreams have finally come true. What starts off as a simple task, turns into something unexpected, changing Dawn’s life forever and leading the action-loving, thrill-seeking vampire teen on a path of mystery, danger and intrigue.
When a human girl is kidnapped by a group of rogue vamps, Dawn discovers that there is more going on in Angel Creek than meets the eye. And it all connects to Ethan, the cute newcomer who seems too perfect to be true, Sebastian, the mysterious vampire with a turbulent past, and even Dawn herself. Dawn must not only succeed in revamping the troubled recruits, but must also prevent the vampire race from being overtaken by a malevolent villain who has a strange and obsessive fascination with her. As threat escalates, romance blooms, and ghosts from her past begin to surface, Dawn is sure of only one thing: her life will never be the same.
Available for Purchase
Kobo, Nook and iBookstoore available soon
What is Horror?
Mar 28
Posted by Bek Harrington
Sure I write about vampires, and they can be pretty be horrible, but me…. a horor writer?
My first book, Vampires Revealed, was more like an autobiographical mocumentary than any other tag you care to throw about. Bektamun, narrator and star of the tale, relives some of the ‘horrible’ things she has done; but only when forced to protect those she loves.
Desires Revealed, my upcoming release, is a love story first and foremost. And of course there is ample vampire shenanigans thrown in. (Got to feed the bloodlust)
Does writing about vampires automatically mark you as a ‘horror writer’? When I think of horror fiction the first name that springs to mind is Stephen King, which I’m sure is the same for a lot of people. Mr King has dabbled with vampires (very successfully too, I might add), but his most famous and popular works are far removed from the world of vampires.
Also worth considering is whether or not, despite the vampire ‘revolution’, the general expectation is for vampires to appear in the horror genre. Maybe I’m just weird, because I really don’t think of vampires as characters of horror; well at least not so much anymore.
Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula was pretty terrifying for the time it was written. Fast forward to The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice; doubt I would’ve bought and read the books if I’d thought I was buying horror. For me, books in The Vampire Chronicles, were about Lestat’s inability to understand humanity; not that he was a blood-sucking monster. Like I said, maybe I’m weird. No doubt my opinion of vampires as characters of horror would change instanteously should I ever meet a Dracula, Lestat or Eric (Southern Vampires, Charlaine Harris).
When I think about horror, and the things that scare me, I only have to look at history to have shivers run down my spine.
Part of ‘my’ vampire mythology is a group of extemist vampires known as the Eleiveb. While searching for inspiration as to what kind of things they may subject their human victims, I simply did a search for ‘torture’. One of the most interesting/horrifying sites I came across was Medieval Torture. The site features a myriad of tools and equipment which sole purpose was to inflict pain and torture on human victims.
While I may be uneasy being assigned as a horror writer, and steadfastly believe mankind is far more horrible to each other than legend or mythical creature we can imagine, the fact remains I will continue to write about vampires; and they will inevitably do horrible things.
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Tags: anne rice, bram stoker, charlaine harris, dracula, fiction, horror, stephen king, vampires