Haunted Wins Reader’s Favorite Award

Who willingly walks into a haunted house?

Our readers do!

Since we launched Haunted: 11 Tales of Ghostly Horror in October we’ve received some excellent reviews and recently we won an award for the anthology. Here is a quick recap of some of the comments we’ve had from readers:

Dave at Hellnotes.com says:

Ghost hunting isn’t something that most people think of as a career, but there are people out there who solicit these types of services legitimately. They’re not just the stuff of horror fiction and films any longer, as attested by ghost hunter Jaeson K. Jrakman in his introduction. Daniel Defoe even wrote a book on the subject called The Secrets of the Invisible World Disclos’d in 1735. Still, whether the stories are true or made up, they make for great entertainment, and Haunted: 11 Tales of Ghostly Horror is no exception.



Joe at Wickedlilpixie.com says:

With the sheer number of ghost hunting shows that are littering the television landscape these days, not to mention in the movies, its nearly impossible for this book not to exist. It was only a matter of time. That being said, there is no doubt a need for a book like this in the market. While not a die hard Ghostbuster myself, the genre is part of my chosen areas of speciality. Also, as it was produced by a local small publisher and had several of my favorite authors – several of which were local – the choice for me to pick it up was an easy one.



Hunter from Ravenousmonster.com writes:

I think ghost stories are the hardest kind of horror to write. I love body horror, but it’s easier; a disease that causes you to sprout hands in random places, a woman with shark heads instead of breasts. . . .Sure it’s creepy, but there’s something a little Mr. Potato Head about it: stick enough body parts where they don’t belong and you’ve got instant scariness. A really good ghost story requires patience, atmosphere, and most of all pacing. The best ghost stories infuse mundane imagery with terrifying implication. The mundane trappings have changed–EVP and Polaroids replaced spirit writing and séances–but the would-be ghost story writer still has to take an old house or graveyard or ship and a dead guy who won’t suck your blood or eat your brains and imbue them with netherworldly horror.



Brian posted his review on DriveThruFiction.com and says:

“Haunted”, the debut anthology of FR Press, delivers an excellently paced collection of mysterious and terrifying tales. The collection focuses on stories about hauntings and the ghost hunters that investigate them. All eleven stories in “Haunted” possess their own merits, and are distinct enough that the anthology avoids the pitfall of having eleven different stories trying to do the same thing.

Typically I am not a fan of anthologies. Usually when I set aside time to read I want to be able to delve into a novel and lose myself for a few hours. The constant shifting of gears and restarting that occurs as you move from story to story in an anthology always makes me feel tossed about. “Haunted” however, has avoided (or the very least minimized) this problem for me. The eleven stories in the collection are laid out in such a way that it feels like you are traveling through an entire pot arc, not just eleven short, disparate plots.



Gerard over at Goodreads.com has a review that says:

Given that I have spent the last two years gorging on post apocalyptic books I thought it was time for a break and so I chose to read Haunted: 11 tales, these tales all infer a connection to Ghost Hunting. Many of us have seen this on TV and normally revolve around a few guys with tattoos jumping at the sign of moth; I was interested to see what writers would do with the genre. I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised; this is a great anthology by a group of writers which were largely unknown to me before and I will certainly be buying books from some of the contributors. The whole anthology flows really well with no real repetition.



We also just found out that Haunted: 11 Tales of Ghostly Horror won the Best Anthology category in the Preditors & Editors Readers’ Poll. The P&E Readers’ Poll is an annual event hosted by the Critters Writers Workshop where readers and fans can vote on their favorite books, authors and publishers. Thanks to our readers we took the top spot in this year’s event and we’re honored that so many would vote for our little collection of horror.

Haunted: 11 Tales of Ghostly Horror is available in eBook (PDF, ePub and Mobi/Kindle) and Print formats at DriveThruFiction.com. It is also available at the B&N Nook Store.

Cross-Posted with permission from FlamesRising.com

Hugo Award Nominations Open!

Apexology: Science Fiction and Fantasy CoverThe 2012 Hugo Award nominations are open! If you’re able to nominate an author, editor or publisher for a Hugo award, I hope you take the time to do so. The nominations end on January 31st and there’s a lot of great categories to list your favorites.

This year, I have one short story that would be eligible for a Hugo award. “Tailfeather” appeared in Apexology: Science Fiction & Fantasy along with seventeen other fine tales this past summer.

Good luck to my friends and peers in the community!

Award Nomination for Haunted: 11 Tales of Ghostly Horror! Vote!

Haunted: 11 Tales of Ghostly HororI am pleased to announce that Haunted: 11 Tales of Ghostly Horror is up for an award. The annual Preditors & Editors award committee has honored this debut anthology from FR Press to be considered for a Readers’ Choice award.

Vote for your favorite anthology in the 2011 Preditors & Editors Awards! The voting ends on January 10, 2012.

Back in 2009, Buried Tales of Pinebox, Texas, featuring my short story titled “Pie” won this award. I am thrilled that this year’s anthology was included in this list. It was a nice surprise!

Win a Copy of Strange, Dead Love!

Today I participated in Lori Devoti’s 30 Days of Vampire series by talking about whether or not vampires can love. This article was written for paranormal romance readers who may not be familiar with Vampire: the Requiem. I also included some insight into my thought process for my contribution, too.

Paranormal romance is filled with tales of vampires falling in love with humans. There’s something about a creature of the night that makes our pulse quicken and our hearts pound. Steamy passion is guaranteed in the works of many authors ranging from Anne Rice to Charlaine Harris. But what about love? Can a monster who’s not only dead — but feeds on the living to survive — love? — SOURCE: Can Vampires Love? on LoriDevoti.com



Visit Can Vampires Love? for your chance to win a FREE copy of Strange, Dead Love! This new release was developed by Russell Bailey and Eddy Webb. Jess Hartley, Filamena Young, and myself were the writers. Christopher Shy was the artist who created the cover.

Curious about Vampire: the Requiem but not sure where to begin? Here are some other things for you to check out!

Girl Geek Week: The Freaking Fabulous Contest!

Since no week of geek would be complete without a fabulous and fun contest, I’m having one…with prizes!

Both DriveThruComics.com and DriveThruRPG.com have offered to sponsor a prize and I’ve decided to provide one or two of my own.

Winners get to pick the prize they want!

The Freaking Fabulous Contest

To be a part of The Freaking Fabulous Contest, all you have to do is write a blog post about something you enjoy.

Doesn’t matter who you are or where you hail from, all I ask is that you speak up about what you’re passionate about. (And no, you do NOT need to be a girl geek, either.)

A link back to my website would be appreciated, but I am not requiring that you do so to win the contest.

When your post is live, please leave a comment on this post linking to your entry and indicate what prize you want to be considered for. To make it easier to find the post, the contest will be hyper-linked on my sidebar. Prizes, along with the nitty gritty details, are listed below. Winners will be chosen at random.

Contest Details

    Monica Valentinelli will be giving away one of the following prizes:

  • a twenty-five dollar digital gift certificate to be used on DriveThruRPG.com or DriveThruComics.com
  • a signed copy of The Zombie Feed Volume One and a handmade necklace and bracelet she designed based on the story
  • a digital copy of The Queen of Crows and a handmade set of bracelets she designed based on the character of Mahochepi
  • Please read the fine print below to find out how you can win!

      1. One Entry Per Person – Please post one entry per person, so that your fellow geeks can have an equal chance of winning a prize.
      2. Entries That Will/Won’t Be Considered – By keeping these simple guidelines in mind, you will increase your chance of winning.

        What Will Be Considered – Only entries posted from Tuesday, June 28th through midnight, Tuesday July 5th will be eligible to win. There is no limit or restriction on topics, the only requirement is that it’s something you’re passionate about.
        What Won’t Be Considered – Previously-published posts and entries that are full of harsh or foul language, overly graphic/sexual depictions or discriminatory/slang comments will be disqualified.

      3. Valid Email Address Required – When you post your comment, there’s a field to enter your email address. In order for Monica to notify the winner, please include a valid email address. This email address will not be posted publicly. She will not use your email address for any other reason other than to notify you if you’ve won.
      4. Valid U.S. Mailing Address Required – Once she’s contacted you, she will need a valid U.S. mailing address to send you your prize if you choose the prize from her. Monica will pick up the cost of shipping. If you are located outside of the U.S. and still want her stories, she’ll be happy to figure out an alternate prize that can be delivered digitally.
      5. Prizes and Notification – Monica Valentinelli will provide whichever prize, as listed above, the winner chooses within two weeks of notification. Based on the number of entries, she may award random prizes as well. Contest winners will be notified via email within one week after the contest ends.

    Good luck!

    Previous Posts Next Posts




    Monica Valentinelli > Events > Contests & Awards

    Looking for Monica’s books and games that are still in print? Visit Monica Valentinelli on Amazon’s Author Central or a bookstore near you.

    Archives

    Back to Top