It’s finally autumn. The days are shorter and the nights are starting to get longer. Perfect for the bookaholics of the world who like to snuggle in a mound of blankets on the couch with a good book… like me.
I want to kick off my beloved month of spooky author guest posts with one of my favorite paranormal authors: C. S. Boyack. If you are looking for some creepy reading this October, start with this guy. I’ve read a couple of Craig’s books and let me tell you, there are some strange goings on in there. Just so you know what I’m talking about here is my review of Panama, and here is my review of Will O’ the Wisp.
Currently, Craig is giving away a FREE anthology called, Quantum Wanderlust. Check out that post on his blog for more information or take the leap and see for yourself by clicking the links below.
I know you want to hear from Craig so you can get a sense of why he writes what he does, so please let me introduce you to C. S. Boyack:
I was born in a town called Elko, Nevada. I like to tell everyone I was born in a small town in the 1940s. I’m not quite that old, but Elko has always been a little behind the times. This gives me a unique perspective of earlier times, and other ways of getting by. Some of this bleeds through into my fiction.
I moved to Idaho right after the turn of the century and never looked back. My writing career was born here, with access to other writers and critique groups I jumped in with both feet.
I like to write about things that have something unusual. My works are in the realm of science fiction, paranormal, and fantasy. The goal is to entertain you for a few hours. I hope you enjoy the ride.
Author, C. S. Boyack
Thanks for inviting me over, Colleen. I love all the speculative genres, but paranormal holds a special place in my heart. I like suspense as a technique, and it’s particularly well suited to paranormal tales.
If you were to read one of my books, there isn’t a lot of gore. This may seem counter-productive to some, but I prefer more of a Rod Serling or Alfred Hitchcock approach to things. My tales have a bit of “whistling in the graveyard” type humor to them at some point too. Make no mistake, these aren’t comedies, and some characters die in my stories.
Let me tell you about a few of them:
Panama was the first paranormal tale I dared to share with the world. It’s is a consistent seller for me, but I think it’s on the strength of the characters. My writing has improved over time, and I hope that will always continue. This is a buddy story, and it’s set during the construction of the Panama Canal. Workers from all over the world went to Panama to work on the canal. I decided an international kind of magic would be the only way to approach this one. You’ll find sprinklings of witchcraft, shamanism, HooDoo, and more in this tale.
I wound up doing a lot of research in the book too. I used celebrity cameos, and most of the time, those people were exactly where I placed them at the exact time they interacted with my characters. I think it’s important to make the real world as accurate as possible. Then when I ask for a leap of faith, it’s easier for readers to take.
The nutshell basis for this book is the President asks two old cavalrymen to look into some paranormal goings on at the Canal Zone. To find out what these knuckleheads run into, you’ll have to check out the book.
Will O’ the Wisp is an important book for me personally. I can mark my career as before Wisp and after. I took on the job of writing a first-person point of view story, and if that weren’t enough, this fifty-plus-year-old male author wrote the entire story as a teenage girl.
Patty Hall is fifteen years old in the early 1970s. She loves stargazing, all things science-fiction, and has dreams of being an astronaut. She’s held back by the need to wear corrective leg braces. Patty is perfectly prepared for the wrong problem.
She and her friends spot the Will O’ the Wisp while stargazing one night. It takes over the body of a college boy, and murder is the end result. It turns out the Wisp is targeting the entire Hall family. Patty comes up with a science-fiction solution, but she is far from correct. Will she figure it all out before it’s too late?
I learned so much about writing from this story that’s it’s got a special place in my heart. I should mention that it’s suitable for young adults if you can imagine. If scary doesn’t always mean gore and splash, maybe Will O’ the Wisp is what you need for Halloween reading.
The Playground is not suitable for young readers. It’s a bit more brutal than Wisp, but it had to be. This one has a bit of science-fiction background but remains a paranormal tale. It’s told in the form of three alternating stories that all come together at the end.
The Playground Network is a new form of social media for children. The devices that access this media are high-tech dolls and plush animals. A ruthless businessman is actually brainwashing our children to become his own private army. Imagine having an enemy soldier in every home, and you get the gist.
The businessman is impatient and turns to the occult for faster results. The crucial software goes missing, and a chase for the maguffin is the basis of the tale.
You’ll meet Gina, a doctor who narrowly survived a bout with cancer. She becomes the host to an unusual parasite that gives her vision into the other-world around us. Her role is part of a secret society that is dedicated to stopping supernatural evil.
Clovis is a brutal thug that is working for the businessman. He’s no-nonsense, and not someone to be trifled with. He’s more street-wise than Gina, more willing to do wet-work, bigger, and he has a head start.
Then we have Chloe. She’s just a child who obtains a Playground Doll. Her life spirals out of control, and readers get a chance to see what lies ahead if Gina can’t complete her mission.
There are demons, fairies, a bit of Voodoo, the angel of death, and even a stupid dog involved. If you think a paranormal tale in the style of a Tarantino film, or a Frank Miller comic might be fun, I urge you to check it out.
Other paranormal tales are included in my Experimental Notebooks. These are collections of short stories and micro-fiction priced at 99¢. They include all the speculative genres, but if you’re looking for a test-drive of my style, I think they’re a lot of fun. Specific paranormal titles are “Something in the Water, Jack O’ Lantern, Urban Renewal Project, or 50 Gallon Drum.” The second Notebook contains, “Fever, Things we do for Love, Documentary, Career Move, and Inheritance.”
Many authors do something special during October, and I’m no different. Every Tuesday this month, I’m posting a micro-fiction that has a Halloween theme. I call this Macabre Macaroni, and you can read those for free on my blog, Entertaining Stories.
I appreciate Colleen inviting me over, and as a nod to her, I like fairies too. The ugly one in The Playground isn’t quite the same as the traditional fairies, but I have one.
You’ll have to delve into The Cock of the South to meet Iris. She’s kind of forceful, and helps my main character along his way. I used a lot of what’s called fairy tale structure in this one, and she serves the role of “magical gifts from friends.” This one is a Greco-Roman fantasy where I mash up traditional fantasy characters into a more Mediterranean setting.
Blog – Entertaining Stories
My Novels Amazon
Twitter
Goodreads
Facebook
Here are the Amazon links to C. S. Boyack’s books that are not linked above.
The Second Experimental Notebook: http://a-fwd.com/asin=B01KENADN6
North American Continent http://a-fwd.com/asin-com=B00UPH6BNS
Rest of the world http://a-fwd.com/asin-com=B00UQNDT2C
HOPE YOU HAD A HOWLING GOOD TIME!
Rate this:Thank You for Sharing:
