BOOK FEATURE: Food to Die For (Book 8 in the Scareville Series) by John Ward

Synopsis

The town of Traverse City, Michigan was everything you wanted out of a Midwest community. Nestled on the banks of Lake Michigan, the city had much to offer. When advertisements began to spread a jolly jingle for a newly opening burger joint, the town went crazy for it.

“Come on down to Chunko Town! Have a burger and meet Chunko the Clown!”

The infamous pudgy clown statue in the commercial gained notoriety quickly and had everyone ready to meet the Chunko Burger mascot.

Things took a turn for the worst when Kira and her friends tempt fate and mess with Chunko. 

Whatever you do – don’t anger the clown!

Buy the book - AMAZON      BARNES & NOBLE

Story behind the story

Clowns have become synonymous with horror. I had been fumbling around with a way to create a unique horror story featuring the dynamic antagonist for quite some time. I was in a drive-thru one day and had my lightbulb moment. Immediately the idea flooded my imagination and I got to work. I think Food to Die For will be a fun, standout story in the series with a very memorable antagonist - Chunko the Clown.

About the Author

John Ward is a horror author hailing from Canton, Ohio. John loves writing horror for everyone and inspiring today's young readers. He lives with his dog, Bo, who is his best friend. When John isn't busy cooking up new stories for the world, he can be found reading, doing paranormal investigations, or taking in a new horror film.

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CreativeLife update: Laughing my ass off making art

 Hey there creative friends!

   This past week I finished the Creative Reset course with Louise Fletcher. One of the exercises we had to do was to draw blind selfies. I share a few below, but I laughed so hard when I saw the results. Some people had a really hard time doing this exercise. While I understand the difficulties people might have, I had no problem staring at my face (no make-up) to do the assignment.

                         

   Blind drawing, in case you don't know, is to draw while looking at the subject, but not at the paper. I used a mirror.

   Then I noticed the Mont Marte September challenge on Instagram. Since I do have a few materials from Mont Marte, and enjoy a challenge, I decided why not? And guess what the first prompt was? Yup...do a selfie. This was no blind drawing challenge, so I had to have a think about which photo to use. What style I want to use. And of course, the medium.

   Oil pastels won, since I have been working on improving my skills with this medium. Since winners are chosen randomly, my chances would be closer to zero than anything else, I thought...let's just go for it.

   It's not a very good likeness, but it was fun nonetheless. What do you think? My profile picture on Instagram is the real me if you want to have a look and compare. Be nice, please.

   So now it's back to the paintings for an actual competition. I have one finished already, one is in progress, and the plan is to do a third since they allow three entries.

  Unit we chat again, have an awesome creative time!

🇿🇦💜 Linzé

Book feature: THE GREAT DICK: AND THE DYSFUNCTIONAL DEMON by Barry Maher

 BOOK FEATURE

THE GREAT DICK: AND THE DYSFUNCTIONAL DEMON by Barry Maher

BUY the book: Amazon

SYNOPSIS

 It’s 1982. His name, Steve Witowski, is an alias. Once he was a counterculture hero. Now he’s a failed songwriter, running from the law.

And he’s just become a killer, rescuing a woman from an horrific assault by what seemed to be the strongest wino in California. Steve should keep moving. But the woman, Victoria, is beyond stunning.

Oddly, she’s recently bought a decrepit old church, with notorious past. Will Steve stay and help? Of course. Even as the face of the man he just killed materializes on his arm. And Victoria becomes just a part of a mystery he can’t unravel.

Until he’s looting the decomposing dead for the secrets of a self-proclaimed  sorcerer. And the mystery becomes a nightmare of fire and blood and death.

The Sorcerer’s spells and rituals can’t actually work, of course. Until they do.

And unknown to Steve, a demon is growing desperate.

BUY the book: Amazon

Where the story came from...

How Not Being Able to Tell Time Led to The Great Dick: And the Dysfuctional Demon

I was speaking on an Asian cruise when I realized I could no longer figure out what the hands of the clock meant. Money got confusing too. In Viet Nam, I handed a vender two hundreds and a ten for a $7 baseball cap. It was a really nice cap.

Back home, the first thing my doctor did was have me draw a clock face at ten to three. The second thing he did was take away my driver’s license. He sent me for an immediate MRI. The nurse there wouldn’t comment on the results, but when I asked to use the restroom, she said, “I can’t let you go in there alone.”

Bad sign. Then she said, “You need to talk to your neurosurgeon.”

The neurosurgeon explained that I had a brain tumor the size of a basketball. Or maybe he said “baseball.” I wasn’t tracking too well at that point. What I did understand was that he wanted to slice my skull open with a power saw then carve out the tumor.

My problem was that while I was sure this guy was as brilliant as everyone claimed, I’ve always thought intelligence was overrated. To me, on a scale of everything there is to know in the universe, the main difference between Einstein and Koko the Wonder Chimp, was that Einstein couldn’t pick up bananas with his feet. (As far as I know.)

Anyway, I went into surgery. I may or may not have had a seizure during surgery. They weren’t’ sure. That may explain what happened. Or it might have been a bizarre type of dream. But I came out of surgery with a story in my head that was like a memory. One I couldn’t shake.

My brain could have given me a nice rom/com or Citizen Kane or a few episodes of a sitcom. But, I came back to consciousness with a story full of open crypts, bizarre spells, sudden death and the Ralph Lauren version of the Manson Family. And that story is now The Great Dick: And the Dysfunctional Demon

BUY the book: Amazon

What the reviewers said...

“What a page turner! Witty, literate, scary, sexy, and powerfully evocative”

           -Gayle Lynds, New York Times bestselling author.

"An enormous amount of fun. Wholly fresh and original. Wickedly funny . . . The Great Dick is a hot, sweaty, magic- and murder-infused rollercoaster of a story that takes you in every direction except the one you're expecting . . . I loved it."
                           -David Moody, author of Hater and Autumn

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Barry Maher

Barry Maher may be the only horror novelist who’s ever appeared in the pages of Funeral Service Insider. In his misspent youth, his articles were featured in perhaps a hundred different publications and, in order to eat, he held nearly that many different jobs. Sometimes he lived on the beach. Not in a house on the beach. On the beach. With the sand and the seagulls. 

After a sentence with a Fortune 100 company, he started speaking professionally. He told stories to audiences across the country and around the world: his client list a Who’s Who of multi-national corporations and large associations. You may have seen Barry on The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, CNN, CBS or CNBC, or read his Slightly Off-Kilter syndicated newspaper column.

On the downside, he’s actually been incarcerated twice. Once for not making a left hand turn out of a left hand turn lane, and once for aiding and abetting a loiterer. He’s deeply repentant.

Awhile back, Barry lost the ability to tell time, courtesy of a baseball-size, cancerous, brain tumor. He awoke from having his skull cut open without the tumor but with the story of The Great Dick: And the Dysfunctional Demon.

Website: www.barrymaher.com

Twitter: @barrymaher

CreativeLife update for August - life, art, and feeling overwhelmed...again!

 Hey there creative friends!

I have been planning to post for weeks now, but when I blink the weekend was gone and I had to tackle my tasks for the week.

https://books2read.com/u/3yyG5

But this week I sat down and made the time to write this post. Work is crazy and the feeling of being overwhelmed grabbed me and dragged me to the floor a few days ago. I didn't like it at all. But when I got one job after the other done, I basically showed a finger to the feeling and amazingly it worked!

Of course, just pushing through is not a good choice long term, since that tended to make things worse. I took time for myself on Friday and with recharged batteries I can now face the coming week without that terrible feeling hanging onto my mind.

A bit of painting and some writing also helped, and a general sense of spring coming in the warmer weather is nothing to be sneezed at either. We do expect at least one more cold spell, typical of the area where I live, but the longer days are here. So is the new growth in the shrubs in my garden - and plants know about these things. LOL!

I am looking forward to two art courses this coming week. I am particularly excited for The Creative Reset course by Louise Fletcher. I even got all my materials already prepared and ready to go for when the first email lands in my inbox. I have done her free courses in the past, and look forward to it again this year.

Another busy week then...oh well. I do have to say that I hate being bored, but will spend some time today to do plan the next two weeks, where I normally only plan one week.

Have an awesome and creative week!

Until next time,

💜🇿🇦 Linzé

I'm back! CreativeLife updates since my break

Hey there fellow creative!

Taking breaks are necessary for all of us, and we shouldn't forget that as creatives we need to do the same. Mine was about two weeks, until the itch to create got hold of me once more. I worked on my next book most of the time, until watercolour month started on 1 July.

As with the 100 day project, I thought to post my paintings here and only share once a week, since posting everyday requires time that I don't always have available. Then I couldn't log into my blog. After sending Google two emails, and not getting a response, I decided to post on my Substack instead. Which I have been doing everyday for watercolour month.

About a week ago I got a comment here that required moderation - it was spam, but then I could log in. So here I am. Yes!!

I will continue to post on my Substack for the remainder of watercolour month 2025, but I will need to have a think about a theme going forward. There is simply no point blogging to two websites. If you have any thoughts on creative topics I could post about on my Substack, please leave a comment. I would love to have a few more ideas.

Here is my favourite painting done for watercolour month 2025, so far.

Until next time!

🇿🇦💜 Linzé

The 100 day project Week 15 (Day 99 and Day 100)

Hey there creative friends!

Are you as gobsmacked as I am? I made it! At the start of the challenge I was enthusiastic and got going with loads of energy. The enthusiasm is still there, but the energy not so much. But it will return after a short break.

What has been your experience of the 100 day project? Did you finish? Will you do it again? What skill do you think you have improved upon the most?

As mentioned I am taking a break, but my blog will be back to it's not-so-usual schedule of posting once or twice a month unless there is a book feature.

The promised Instagram posts will feature later this week. Thank you for visiting my blog and sharing in my 100 day challenge.

Until we meet again!

💜 Linzé

Day 99 and 100

And this is it. I chose to write these last two days, since it was the best use of the little time I had available.

Time: 3 hours

The 100 day project Week 14 (Day 92 to Day 98)

Hey there creative friend!

How are you doing this week? Are your completed projects piling up? 

I wish I could say that my project list is getting shorter, but no. It's not happening. At least not at the moment. Of course, I am not going to tear up the list, it is just going to get done a bit later. LOL! I'm writing and boy, this story is surprising me in almost every scene. I just noticed that I misspelled 'stasis' but that is what editing is for.

I did do a bit of arty stuff, but not as much as at the start of the 100 days. I have been ticking off the days, and can you believe the end is just two days away?

But below is what I had been up to this past week, but I will see you again on Tuesday.

PS: look out on Instagram where I will be sharing (in a nutshell) what I have been up to for 100 days. 

💜 Linzé

Day 92

I had so much fun doing the collage grid last time, that I did another page. I added a bit of gold pen here and there. I also included a scrap of watercolour painting I did a while back,

Time: 3 hours

Day 96

And here is page 3!

I switched colour scheme and wanted to do black and white backgrounds. Then realised that I don't have B&W papers. Lots of B&W ephemera, but not what I wanted. So out came my stamps and ink pads.

At the end I had gluey black fingers, but it was loads of fun anyway. 😂

Time: 3 hours

Days 93, 94, 95, 97, and 98

Words this week.

Time: 4 hours