#A to Z Blogging; X-Y-Z Reading #Zombies

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A combination post to share some books You may like to for the letters X to Z. How hard is that? haa!

#A to Z Blogging; V - W for Virtual Writing

(Image: pixabay.com)

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Given the month of staying home, it's a good time to explore some virtual writing courses, right? And if you want to try out some new writing ideas, I also included some places for writing prompts.

Here are a few things I found. I didn't check them so feel free to explore. Have fun!

* 90 free online writing courses list

* Free online university courses, non-credit

* Free writing software online

Writing prompts are also a fun way to inspire new story ideas. Here are some I found:

* 365 Creative Writing Prompts

*  Writing prompts for various genres

* 101 Terrifying Horror Writing Prompts

* 50 Spooky Writing Prompts

* 25 Horror Writing Prompts

#A to Z Blogging: T - U - Thinking About the SUbplots

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The hardest thing as a writer is figuring out a story, doing an outline and then as you write finding you don't have enough story. That's where the subplots come in.

The subplots are those things that make your character more realistic, their life's struggles, their background, the other things they encounter in life - and the problems that have an impact on the plot. The rule is if it doesn't move the plot forward, then chuck it.

Everything should somehow play into the character's main goal and how they approach that. It could be a potential or faltering romance; a job or career; a hobby, even a pet. Like real life, all those things have an effect on what we do and how we do things.

The same goes for your character if they're to be believable and real. They have goals, aspirations, fears, friends, etc.  All of that makes them more rounded and comes out often in the subplot and the story.

#A to Z Blogging: R-S Reading Dark Family Stories

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Chilling new reads!

Dark Fantasy: 

Black Bells, Dawn Napier -   Megan's imagination has always been too lively for her own good.

As children, Megan and her sister spent most of their time making up stories and playing games in their own fantasy world. Their favorite character was a lively chap named Jack Benimble, a harlequin covered in jingling bells, who they summoned with a simple rhyme. But fantasy can't protect them from human monsters, and a single event shatters their world.
* On the to-be-read list.



Mystery:

 Blood Family, Jacqueline Seewald -  In the fifth Kim Reynolds Mystery, Kim, an academic librarian, wants to locate her biological father, James Shaw. Unfortunately after finding him, he dies unexpectedly. It is now up to Kim to connect with the family she has never known. She discovers a half-sister, Claire, who is in need of her help; that Claire's stepmother died under mysterious circumstances, and her stepbrother disappeared. With Kim's fiancé, Lieutenant Mike Gardner, Wilson Township homicide detective, investigating along with Sergeant Bert St. Croix, the race is on to catch a killer intent on adding Kim to the list of deceased.

** Review: Enjoyable mystery, especially the relationships between Kim, her fiancé and her "new" family. Soon Kim finds herself the target of threats as she gets pulled into what is soon revealed as a family with more than its share of problems. Sometimes her new half-sister is tedious and seems almost babyish in her neediness while her personality at times seems to conflict with her supposed intellectual shortcomings, but Kim's value as a character is shown as she tries to help her new sibling. The real dynamics of the family become more interesting due to Kim's interactions with Claire and the house's other inhabitants.

 Short chapters make it a quick read. You don't need to read earlier books in the series, but it can help to establish some of the relationships in Kim's life. If you're looking for a light mystery, this was a good read overall, except for a couple incidents that I felt came out of nowhere. Look forward to reading more about Kim's new life after her marriage and hoping that cranky co-worker of hers is finally retired! 4 stars.

# A to Z Blogging: P-Q for Reading Pop Quiz

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I'm combining posts today and for fun, I'm going to make you wrack your brains a bit.
BONUS! I'll even throw in a prize of a couple paperback cozy mysteries off my shelf that I've read (50% Off Murder and Stuck on Murder) for the most correct answers! (If you have the books or read them, I'll sub another mystery. I have books. ha!) (Sorry, US shipping only.)
  **** Send answers with subject head Quiz to my website contact page. One entry per person. Contest ends 12 p.m., noon, Central Time, 4/30.

The questions all center around books that have been featured recently on my blog. A hint: check the top pages link for my monthly reading lists. I'll post the answers after a winner is chosen. 

1. A "sweet" mystery.

2. Famous swordfighter:

3. Victorian rich girl murder.

4. The dead never die even if the originator did.

5.  The horses go 'round and 'round.

6. Christmas and... zombies?

7. Ribbit!

8. The party never ends....

9. Dead and little.

10. Woof!

Ok, I tried to make them not too obvious, but a little challenging, I hope. Have fun!

#A to Z Blogging: O for Only My Favorite Horror Mystery Reads

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Okay, indulge me. I read a lot of different books in all kinds of genres. But some really hit me and stuck with me. Here's a few I really liked for various reasons:

Best Zombie Novel

 Zombie in Chief: Eater of the Free World , A Novel Take on a Brain-Dead Election, Scott Kenemore - Yeah, there's so much political stuff going on, but this is still a really imaginative take on real-life politics with a twist. 

Best Vampire Novel/Series

Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, Seth Grahame-Smith - An alternate view of the Civil War and Lincoln's life since he was a child as a vampire scourge touches his life and later the country. This is a read-it-again book. The bonus is the movie was really well done as well and worth re-watching. .

The Last American Vampire, Seth Grahame-Smith - Sequel to Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter. While most sequels don't always do a first book justice, this does and doubles the excitement as vampire Henry Sturges searches for new purpose after his friend Lincoln's death and is a witness to history through the Reconstruction to JFK's assassination. 

Best Cover and Historic Mystery Thriller

The Bone Shroud, Jean Rabe - What happens when a museum archivist goes in search of real-life history in Italy and ends up one step ahead of a killer? ** Winner of the 2019 Soon to be Famous Author Project sponsored by the Illinois Library Association

Best Horror

 

Infected series (Infected: A Novel; Contagious, Book 2; Pandemic Book 3),  Scott Sigler - This was a can't-put-it-down series. Gory and eww!-inducing at times, but it's gripping and keeps you reading as the fight is on to save earth from... something sinister. 
   Book 1: Meanwhile Perry Dawsey—a hulking former football star now resigned to life as a cubicle-bound desk jockey—awakens one morning to find several mysterious welts growing on his body. Soon Perry finds himself acting and thinking strangely, hearing voices . . . he is infected. 

#A to Z Blogging: N for New #Mystery Coming Soon!

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If you haven't read Jean Rabe's Piper Maxwell series, then you better catch up quick as she is working on book 4, The Dead of Jerusalem Ridge, which she hopes to release by early summer. (Oh, and another cool cover! Wait until you see it!)

The series, what she calls "uncozy cozy" mysteries feature a cozy team in a small sheriff's department in a small town. Led by a youngish, former military officer and daughter of the last chief, Piper Maxwell is growing into the job while tackling some pretty big crimes for small town Indiana.

** Want to get caught up? Enter at Day 1 post for a chance to win the first 3 books!

About the Books: 

The Dead of  Winter, A Piper Maxwell Mystery, Book 1  - Fifty-eight minutes into her first day on the job, twenty-three-year-old Sheriff Piper Blackwell is faced with a grisly murder—the victim artfully posed amid decorations on his lawn. Drawing on former military training, Piper must prove herself worthy of the sheriff’s badge, and that won’t be easy.

The Dead of Night, Piper Maxwell Mystery, Book 2 - Putting a name to the skeleton on the bluff, and searching for the thief who robbed the old veteran of his life’s earnings, sends Piper delving into the sleepy towns that dot her rural county. Now she’s digging into pasts perhaps best left alone.

The Dead of Summer, Piper Maxwell Mystery, Book 3 - Shouts of delight turn to screams of terror when a carnival ride goes berserk at the Spencer County Fair. Sheriff Piper Blackwell must contain the chaos and investigate the possible sabotage, even as she tries to solve a local businessman’s horrific murder.