WordCrafter Lingering Spirit Whispers Paranormal Anthology Set Blog Tour: Undawnted Interviews Jeff Bowles

About the Anthology Set

Lingering Spirit Whispers Paranormal Anthology Set, which is released today, December 1st, 2021 from WordCrafter and is available for purchase.

This anthology set is a bundle including Whispers of the Past, Spirits of the West, and Where Spirits Linger. All three anthologies combined into one convenient paranormal set for lovers of ghost stories.

Amazon Books

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Author Interview: Jeff Bowles 
Contributor to two of the anthologies with two stories, including the winning story in the 2019 WordCrafter Short Fiction Contest, "A Peaceful Life I've Never Known" (Whispers of the Past). The other is "Wenekia" (Spirits of the West).

How long have you been a creative writer? What is your favorite genre? What is your favored format? Poetry? Short story? Novel?

I've been writing for about ten or fifteen years now. I like speculative fiction of all types, most especially anything that does something new and different with the genres. I get bored easily. Novels are my favorite to write and read, but for the first bunch of years I was at this, it was all about short fiction. I've written a lot of things in a lot of different genres and modes, but I always come back to fiction. To me, it's the ultimate form of storytelling and more or less has been since its invention.

Your winning story: A Peaceful Life I’ve Never Know, was this narrative based on a real-life experience of yours? Or, was this story from your creative well? What makes this story so tangible that it speaks to the reader?

No, Peaceful Life is loosely based on the wilder side of singer and poet Jim Morrison of the 60s group, The Doors. No spoilers, but some things happen toward the end of the story that take it deep into horror territory. I kind of used Jim as a jumping off point, but he definitely never did anything my character Douglass has done. I liked the idea of a rock star who thought he could get away with anything. I think it's kind of a visceral story, and that's why people react to it. I like visceral storytelling. Like I said, I get bored easily.

How do you write? Do you write from characters’ point of view? Are you plot-oriented? If you have done both, which one works better for you?

Very often, I give myself an easy concept, a jumping-off point, and then I start writing and don't stop until I have something resembling a story. Editing takes longer this way, but very often I find I get something unique and startling out of it. It also works pretty well when I outline and plan everything out, but for the most part, I start with concept and character, and plot rolls out from there. There's so many ways to write fiction, almost as many as there are fiction writers in the world. I like that about the craft. There are some rules, but none of them are precisely what we'd call "hard and fast." In other words, sometimes writing rules are made to be broken.

Where does your creativity stem from? Did you have an active imagination in childhood? Is writing your only creative outlet? Or, are you into other forms of artistry? Painting? Photography? If no other forms at this time, would you like to try out one? If so, which type of creative non-writing format would suit your curiosity?

I'm also a singer and a songwriter, which has come in handy, because I started writing music when I was a young teenager. My ability to use language in an effective way stems from that. I'm not much of a painter or artist, but I do some of that stuff, too. I've always been a creative person. I get itchy and anxious if I go too long without doing something creative. So it's always been projects of various sorts for me, first with music–recording music, performing music–and then when I began taking my writing seriously when I was about twenty-two or twenty-three. I also keep a YouTube channel called Jeff Bowles Central, where a lot of my creative endeavors end up in one form or another. I love this aspect of my life, and I definitely feel kinship with others who are also creatively inclined.

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Thank you, Jeff Bowles for your unique perspective about creativity and the writing craft. If you would like to know more about Mr. Bowles, please see his biography and links below:  

 

Author Bio

Jeff Bowles is a science fiction and horror writer from the mountains of Colorado. The best of his outrageous and imaginative work can be found in God's Body: Book One - The Fall, Godling and Other Paint Stories, Fear and Loathing in Las Cruces, and Brave New Multiverse. He has published work in magazines and anthologies like PodCastle, Tales from the Canyons of the Brave New Multiverse. He has published work in magazines and anthologies like PodCastle, Tales from the Canyons of the Damned, the Threepenny Review, and Dark Moon Digest. Jeff earned his Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing at Western State Colorado University. He currently lives in the high-altitude Pikes Peak region, where he dreams strange dreams and spends far too much time under the stars. Jeff's new novel, Love/Madness/Demon, is available on Amazon now!

Author Links

• Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/Jeff-Bowles/e/B01L7GXCU0/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JeffBowlesCentralEntertainment
  

 

If you like this interview, then read the others in the Lingering Spirit Whispers series: 

• Stevie Turner
• Kaye Lynne Booth 
• Roberta Eaton Cheadle

WordCrafter Lingering Spirit Whispers Paranormal Anthology Set Blog Tour: Undawnted Interviews Kaye Lynne Booth

About the Anthology Set

Lingering Spirit Whispers Paranormal Anthology Set, which is released today, December 1st, 2021 from WordCrafter and is available for purchase.

This anthology set is a bundle including Whispers of the Past, Spirits of the West, and Where Spirits Linger. All three anthologies combined into one convenient paranormal set for lovers of ghost stories.

Amazon Books

 

 

 

*****

Author Interview: Kaye Lynne Booth
"Woman in the Water" (Whispers of the Past), "Don't Eat the Pickled Eggs" (Spirits of the West), "The People Upstairs" (Where Spirits Linger)

Where does your inspiration for writing stories stem from?

The inspiration for “The Woman in the Water” (Whispers of the Past) came as I was sitting in front of a roaring waterfall one afternoon. The whole story just unfolded in my mind with the real life setting as the background. I went home and typed it out on my keyboard until the whole tale was down.

The inspiration for “Don’t Eat the Pickled Eggs” came from a paranormal experience of a woman that I knew. Her boss had passed on and she believed that he came to her one night. This created the beginning for the tale of Lillie Belle, a saloon bookkeeper who experiences a visit from her saloon keeper and friend before she is aware that he is gone, and it’s up to her to solve his murder.

The idea for “The People Upstairs” rolled around in the back of my brain since I was a young girl, living at my grandmother’s home. Her housekeeper was an old woman who lived alone in a big house, but she only used three rooms, closing off the rest of the house, and she made some very strange claims, including one that there were people living on the second floor of her home. These ideas led to conversations with my mother and grandmother, and folks around town said that she was crazy. But she always had time to talk with me, even when she was working, and I considered her my friend. After she died, I missed her and I always wondered if maybe the things she said were true, if maybe she wasn’t crazy after all. “The People Upstairs” is the resulting story.

Were you always interested in becoming a writer? Or did this craft come to you later than your formative years?

I have been a writer since 1996, the year I sold my first poem. I floundered around trying to figure out what I was doing and the proper way to go about it. That didn’t come until much later, 2012, when I enrolled in Western State Colorado University to earn my M.F.A. in Creative Writing.

Writing is a passion for me. It helps me focus and helps me to keep my sanity. I think all people have a need to express themselves, but they do it in different ways. My self-expression just comes out in the written word.

Writing in the horror genre, specifically the subcategories of the supernatural and paranormal, is specialized. How is this genre different from others you have written in? I think you have to work harder to gain reader buy-in with fantastical genres. When I wrote my western novel, Delilah, I had to work to make readers buy-in to my tough, gritty female protagonist, but I don’t think that is nearly as big a challenge as trying to make readers believe the unbeleiveable.

Are you interested in writing the grotesque or psychological variations of horror?

I wrote a flash fiction piece, “The Haunting of Carol’s Woods” which was featured in Nightmareland, Book 3 of Dan Alatorre’s Box Under the Bed series. That one was inspired by a dream that I had and it was kind of creepy. But I’m not particularly interested in writing like Clive Barker or even Peter Straub.

Do you draw on any experiences you may have had in your life in order to write your stories?

Absolutely. Doesn’t every author? There is good sense in the old adage “Write what you know”. I’m a believer in ghosts and have had several personal experiences, maybe that’s why I like to write ghost stories.

What is the most horrific story you have read in a book/seen on the screen that stayed with you for years? Ever since I was a young girl I’ve been drawn to the horror genre. As a teen, my favorite author was Stephen King and I gobbled up everything I could get my hands on that he wrote, but I also liked John Saul, and Anne Rice. Stories such as those are sure to warp your mind just a little.

When I was fifteen I was babysitting and I found a copy of The Shining. After the kids were in bed, I picked it up and started reading. I found I couldn’t put and kept reading well into the night. At four a.m., when I started to nod off, I was too scared to go to sleep, so I called and woke my mother and made her talk to me until my nerves were calm once more. After I hung up with her I couldn’t resist finishing the rest of the book. I had to know what happened.

Whispers by Dean Koontz gave me a good case of the creeps and stuck in my brain after I learned that the ‘whispers’ were cock roaches. It sends shiver down my spine, even now.

There was a short story in a horror anthology that I read when I was pregnant with my oldest daughter, about a baby that was possessed and killed its mother. Understandably, that one stayed with me for a long time and really creeped me out, but I can’t even remember the name of the book or the title of the story now.

Did that influence your writing in any manner?

Horror is difficult for me to write. My brain is not that warped. I guess I am no Stephen King. Lol. But I do enjoy creating tone and setting for my paranormal stories, which are just a milder form of horror.

What haunted location would you like to visit and write in? Would you write about the place and its history? Or would you write a story inspired by the paranormal energy felt there? I have visited many haunted locations. In fact, the submission guidelines for Where Spirits Linger was a paranormal story that revolves around a setting.

I’ve made several visits to a haunted hotel in Cripple Creek over the past year, The Hotel St. Nicholas. There may be a story brewing revolving that setting, but I think it would be set in the past, when it was the only hospital for the then booming mining town. The history will definitely play a vital role in the tale that develops, but I think paranormal vibes could steer the story in a particular direction. So, I guess the answer is both.

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Thank you, Kaye Lynne Booth for your great answers about the writing craft and this anthology set. If you would like to know more about Ms. Booth, please see her biography and links below: 

Author Bio

Kaye Lynne Booth lives, works, and plays in the mountains of Colorado. With a dual emphasis M.F.A. in Creative Writing, writing is more than a passion. It's a way of life. She’s a multi-genre author, who finds inspiration from the nature around her, and her love of the old west, and other odd and quirky things which might surprise you. She has short stories featured in the following anthologies: The Collapsar Directive (“If You’re Happy and You Know It”); Relationship Add Vice (“The Devil Made Her Do It”); Nightmareland (“The Haunting in Carol’s Woods”); Whispers of the Past (“The Woman in the Water”); and Spirits of the West (“Don’t Eat the Pickled Eggs”). Her western, Delilah, her paranormal mystery novella and her short story collection, Last Call, are all available in both digital and print editions. In her spare time, she keeps up her author’s blog, Writing to be Read, where she posts reflections on her own writing, author interviews and book reviews, along with writing tips and inspirational posts from fellow writers. She’s also the founder of WordCrafter. In addition to creating her own imprint in WordCrafter Press, she offers quality author services, such as editing, social media & book promotion, and online writing courses through WordCrafter

Author Links

• Website https://kayebooth.wixsite.com/wordcrafter/wordcrafter-press
• Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/Kaye-Lynne-Booth/e/B071791Y9W%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share
  
• Blog: https://writingtoberead.com/

If you like this interview, then read the others in the Lingering Spirit Whispers series: 

• Stevie Turner
• Jeff Bowles  
  
• Roberta Eaton Cheadle

One Last Look at The Descent: a darker breed of poetry

All Hallow's Eve has come and gone for 2021, but the darkness still lingers in our hearts. 

If you ever need to dance with the devil in the pale moonlight, then be sure to bookmark DL Mullan's poetry list (is no longer) available on My Poetry Forum. Four poems from her horror-themed genre chapbook, The Descent reside there in their crypt: 

• Breathe
• Identity
• The Collection
• Upon Reading Edgar Allan Poe 

Be sure to leave a review. 

And, how do you like the new cover design? 

Have a great and spooky day. 

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Undawnted's YouTube Channel offers poetry shorts to full-fledged poetry feature films in our Poetry Slam section. This new playlist will give you more of the rhymes you crave.

Subscribe for more award-level poems written by DL Mullan.

 

 

On My Poetry for Review: Vanished

Vanished is an autumn/Halloween themed poem. The poem makes us think about those of us who are lost.

This poem is in the same dark energy as our already published blockbuster chapbook: The Descent. Vanished is currently on My Poetry Forum for review. Read it for yourself and leave a comment. 

If you would like to read other poems by DL Mullan, be sure to check out the forum for more of her selections under Undawnted. 

This chapbook houses "a darker breed of poetry." Plus new poetry that has yet to be seen by the general public.

"As a genre poet myself, I have to tell you how much I enjoyed this."

"The poem [Breathe} is as scrumptious and sensual as it is dark and deep."

"This is first for me. I have never read genre poetry before. I love it. Hugely imaginative and utterly unique..." 

Visit The Descent on Undawnted.

Have a great and wonderful day.

Fearless Workshop: Edgar Allan Poe: Terror of The Soul

Just in time for the autumn season:

 

 Edgar Allan Poe: Terror of The Soul

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*Update: all workshops and special engagements have now been concluded, and new projects are now under Undawnted's Substack.

A writer at heart, Undawnted's own creative spark, DL Mullan, began writing short stories and poetry before adolescence. Over the years, Ms. Mullan has showcased her literary talents by self-publishing several collections of her poetry. She also writes novels, designs apparel, and creates digital art. Ms. Mullan‘s creative writing is available in digital and print collections, from academia to commercial anthologies. As an independent publisher, she produces her own book cover designs as well as maintains her own websites. She is an award-winning digital artist and poet. This year, DL Mullan has begun sharing her knowledge via A Novelist Idea Newsletter. If you too want to become a Fearless Phile, then subscribe to her newsletter on Substack.

Her innovative style teaches writers how to reach their creative potential, and write more effectively.

Learn. Grow. Master… with Undawnted.

Do You Have This Poem in Your Collection?

The Collection is a horror-themed poem that will leave you wondering what the rest of the story is behind the scenes.

This poem is one of a handful of poems being released this Halloween season on Undawnted's YouTube Channel for review. Subscribe to the channel and leave a comment. 

 

If you do miss your opportunity, then please purchase my chapbook full of genre poetry called: The Descent.

Have a great and wonderful day. 

______

 

Undawnted's YouTube Channel offers poetry shorts to full-fledged poetry feature films in our Poetry Slam section. This new playlist will give you more of the rhymes you crave.

Subscribe for more award-level poems written by DL Mullan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Undawnted's Halloween Poetry Event Continues on My Poetry Forum

So far, I have published for review some Halloween-themed poetry on Undawnted's YouTube Channel. These poems are as follows:

Breathe
Identity
The Collection

One more poem will be released before Halloween. Be sure to look for that post when it comes in the coming days.

These poems will be on the forum until the end of autumn, which for Undawnted is when Autumn Cider Seasonal Reads ends on November 30th, and then will be removed so that others may be placed in their stead. 

I wouldn't want to bore my audience.

I will also be attending Sonoran Dawn Studios' Upon Hallow Ground Reanimated 2020.  

I hope you will join me in celebrating books, music, and entertainment from around the world.

Thank you for your continued support.

Have a great and wonderful day! 

______

 

Undawnted's YouTube Channel offers poetry shorts to full-fledged poetry feature films in our Poetry Slam section. This new playlist will give you more of the rhymes you crave.

Subscribe for more award-level poems written by DL Mullan.

 

 

 

Get Your Identity on My Poetry Forum

Identity is a horror-themed poem that will send chills down your spine.

This poem is one of a handful of poems being released this Halloween season on Undawnted's YouTube Channel. Subscribe and leave a comment. 

If you would like to read the entire collection, then please purchase my chapbook: The Descent.

Have a great and wonderful day.

______

 

Undawnted's YouTube Channel offers poetry shorts to full-fledged poetry feature films in our Poetry Slam section. This new playlist will give you more of the rhymes you crave.

Subscribe for more award-level poems written by DL Mullan.

Love is in the Air

When I first began writing Nocturnal Redemption, I knew a love story was being built. 

All the elements were there. Still, I wanted a story that was more than a romance novel. I wanted the story to be about something concrete. 

So I added into the story a subplot about politics. It's interesting that I began writing this novel way before a woman had ever run for President of the United States. 

Nocturnal Redemption will be out soon...  I hope you enjoy the first book of the series as much as I am enjoying writing the complexities of political life.

The Descent: a darker breed of poetry is Now Available

The wait has ended! 

The dark, atmospheric poetry for the Halloween season has made its debut! The Descent has been released by Sonoran Dawn Studios. 

The PDF ebook is free until October 1, 2016 with a print version including bonus content available in the summer of 2017. 

Get your FREE copy while the offer lasts! 

Have a great and wonderful day! 

Humans, We're Not so Human After All

So, you think you are human: Homo sapien sapien. 

You may not be so human after all. In the article: New Ancient “Mystery Human” Species Identified Shakes Up The Theory Of Evolution, humans discover that our DNA is not so human, but a collection of interbreeding species from long ago. 

Just face it: your ancestors were sluts. 

“What it begins to suggest is that we’re looking at a Lord of the Rings type world – that there were many hominid populations.” - (1) Mark Thomas, evolutionary geneticist at University College London.

According to DNA samples and cave excavations, more than one type of hominids exists along with our ancestral links. 

What information can be gleaned for today's writers?  Even humans are crossbreeds from different times and peoples. With science fiction, alien races would have the same impurities. In horror, zombies, vampires, and werewolves could harbor from a different sect of the human, or inhuman ancestry. What combinations could be exploited to develop new horrors and aliens for readers.

The Lord of the Rings could be reality. 

What can a writer, artist do to show how these influences have changed the way we look at ourselves in genres that reflect our own natures back onto us?

Source: Collective Evolution

How Faces is the Subconscious Consciousness of Your Unconscious Life

Have you every had one of those nightmares you do not really remember but a weird image sets your mind in motion like trying to remember a vague memory? That is "Faces." An indescript manifestation that haunts your waking psyche.

There are holes where eyes should be. Lines where mouths should be. No shape where a head should be.

You would expect such a scene to be on a paranormal investigative program and not in your mind. So what are our nightmares? And why have they followed me into the conscious realm? 

We may never know. 

Thank you.

Blood Oath; Blood War Debut

In the past I have written many stories, but none so experimental as Blood War. 

Crime drama, family story, comedy, and horror all rolled into one piece. I like taking an established genre and mixing in other elements. That is how Blood War began.

I have placed the story on a writer's forum for critiques. The positive feedback I received was amazing. I never knew readers were so hungry for new. 

Over time, I have edited, added, and polished the story to fit within the definition of a horror novel. The additions have created a better story that I named: Blood Oath; Blood War. I cannot wait to publish this emotive and provocative story.

To read more about this novel and my other writings, please go to the Fiction page.

I hope to publish the book this coming October 1st.

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Blood Oath; Blood War is: In the Name of Blood find the novel in the Long Fiction section.