D L Richardson

If you're from Australia, which I am, we don't celebrate Halloween. Or, if we do it it's typically a half-assed attempt that results in vows never to don a cape and hat and walk two streets for a solitary fun-sized Mars bar every again. The stores get in cobwebs and pumpkins and some parents will let their children wander around the neighbourhood to ask for candy. Do we get out houses egged if we have none? No. At least I hope not. What happened last year was that I forgot all about Halloween until twilight set in and I saw a few ghouls wander into the street. My heart leapt up into my throat (don't you love that cliché) but it did exactly that. I had bought chocolates during the weekly shop but I'd eaten them already (as you do). So I raced into the kitchen and rummaged around the pantry. All I had was muesli bars. Muesli bars. I kid you not. Kids were closing in on my house and all I could give them was a muesli bar. I told myself this was acceptable bec

Whether or not you're into Halloween, if you love reading creepy stories then it's a great time of the year to check out what you can add to your reading pile or see how many books you're read that others have read. I love reading horror, ghost stories, science fiction, and with Halloween just around the corner I thought I'd put together a Halloween reading list of the books I've read. Doubtless I've missed many great reads off this list so feel free to comment with your favourite Halloween reads. Poison in the Pond by D L Richardson    This is a story I wrote way back in 1996 when I first began writing. I was heavily in Koontz and King and wanted to write like them. Along the way I took a writing detour but I've had the chance to edit this and now it is a novella. It's creepy and dark and doesn't have a happy ending at all. If you like dark endings, you might enjoy this.   LOOKOUT FOR AMAZON FREE READ THIS HALLOWEEN OCTOBER 28

Welcome If you've read my earlier works you'll notice they're young adult fiction. I didn't always write YA fiction. I sort of took a round the world trip with my writing. when I began writing I was heavily into books by Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Anne Rice. I wanted to write suspense/horror just like them. But all journeys have detours and side roads. My detour was into young adult fiction. I've always loved reading and writing speculative fiction. As long as my writing has that element then I'm happy to write for teens or adults. Adults like to read my teen books and teens like to read my adult books. How this works is that I don't write sexual content. I'm okay with that too. Anyway, in 1996 I write my second novel titled Poison in the Pond. It never got published. It got shelved in a drawer and I moved onto my next project. This story of a girl driven mad by a mad man has always intrigued me so I decided to edit it. The result is a novella whic

It's my pleasure to showcase the latest YA novel by Laura Diamond "The Zodiac Collector". Great for fans of star signs, fantasy, paranormal and YA fiction. Check it out. Synopsis:   For almost-16 year-old Anne Devans, the annual Renaissance 
Faire means three things—her dad spending weeks in the smithy, her bipolar mom doing some manic costume making, and another ruined birthday for her and her twin sister, Mary. This year, Anne wants things to be different, and she’s going to do things her way.   On the eve of the Faire, Anne (along with a reluctant Mary) conjures up a spell that will make their 16th birthday party a whirlwind event. Little do they know that it’s a literal request. After the mini tornado in their room subsides, the girls realize they’ve invoked the power of the Gemini Twins, Castor and Pollux. That’s the good news. The bad news is they also caught the attention of a sorceress named Zeena who has been collecting children born

It's my pleasure to welcome speculative fiction author James McCormick to my blog today. He is also giving one reader the chance to win a pdf copy of Dragon . Comment to win a pdf copy of the book . All you need to do is comment in the box below and one winner will be randomly selected.     DL: Hi James. Firstly, can you tell us a bit about yourself.   James: I’m a college lecturer from the rainy city of Manchester, England and have been writing speculative fiction for over a decade and a half, mostly science fiction, horror and a little fantasy.   For me writing is all about escapism and imagination, the further a tale is from reality the more I enjoy it. Mostly I write short stories and novellas and have been fortunate enough to have had many of these published professionally. I also write short novels (40 000 to 60 000 words).   My first science fiction novel and my ‘baby’ is called Dragon. I wrote the first draft of it ten or so years ago and since