Urban Legends Is Here!!! #newrelease #indieauthor #amwritinghorror

I met my deadline and published my new horror novella, Urban Legends, this week. Yea me!!!

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Gruesome murders, resembling urban legends, take place in a small college town. Wilk, Elena, and Wayne grow suspicious of their Urban Legends professor when their best friend, Savannah, is found dead in her dorm room with ‘Aren’t You Glad You Didn’t Turn on the Lights?’ written in blood on the mirror. Is Professor Stevens a deranged serial killer? Or just a creepy dude? They must find out the truth before they become the next victims.

EXCERPT FROM URBAN LEGENDS:

The shady looking desk clerk with shifty eyes handed him back his driver’s license and credit card. “Sweeney Todd, please enjoy your stay here. Starting at six a.m., you can eat our complimentary breakfast in the lobby.”

Sweeney Todd stood at the hotel’s front desk in sunglasses, a navy blazer, and combat boots. He smiled and put his cards into his leather wallet. “Thank you.”

Popluck was a town, located five miles from the annoying college town of Independence. Popluck didn’t suffer from tourists. Less people meant less chances of being spotted.

He stepped into the elevator. Men wearing business suits and a few casual couples already stood inside it. He pretended to text on his iPhone, so as to not bring attention to himself.

With no overnight bag, he strolled down the hallway, as the lights flickered on and off, until he reached Room 24. He didn’t plan on spending the night. Why stay in a roach motel when he had a cozy bed at home he could sleep in?

After letting himself in with the card key, he switched on the lights. His gaze scanned the room–a king-sized bed with cheap linens, a dusty dresser with a busted television, a broken remote, a blinking alarm clock, and a carpet covered with black spots.

He sighed and closed the door. When he plopped down on the bed, he texted: Room 24.

I’ll be there shortly, came her reply.

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Keep smiling,

Yawatta Hosby

Urban Legends Cover Reveal!!! #amwritinghorror

COMING SOON:

I really want to thank my beta-readers, Tomeka and Penny, for reading my earlier draft to help me see if Urban Legends was scary enough. I also want to think the Weekend Writing Warriors and my other blogging friends who took the time to support my writing. Also, thank you Chrys Fey, my editor. Her developmental notes really helped me add more mystery to my horror novel.

I hope you guys are excited for Urban Legends because it’s coming soon!

Keep smiling,

Yawatta Hosby

Book Review: Beautiful, Frightening, and Silent by Jennifer Gordon #GNOH

***I received a free copy from Ginger Nuts of Horror***

Adam, a young alcoholic, slowly descends into madness while dealing with the psychological scars of childhood trauma which are reawakened when his son and wife die in a car accident that he feels he is responsible for. After a failed suicide attempt, and more group meetings that he can mention. Adam hears a rumor of a Haunted Island off the Coast of Maine, where “if someone wants it bad enough” they could be reunited with a lost loved one. In his desperate attempt to connect with the ghost of his four-and-a half year old son, he decides to go there, to Dagger Island, desperate to apologize to, or be condemned by, his young son. Adam is not sure what he deserves or even which of these he wants more. While staying in a crumbling old boarding house, he becomes involved with a beautiful and manipulative ghost who has spent 60 years tormenting the now elderly man who was her lover, and ultimately her murderer. The three of them create a “Menage-a-Guilt” as they all come to terms with what it is that ties them so emotionally to their memories and their very “existence”.Beautiful, Frightening, and Silent is a poetic fever dream of grief, love, and the terrifying ways that obsession can change who we are.JENNIFER ANNE GORDON is a professional ballroom dancer by day, and a curly haired neurotic writer by night. She is an actor, a traveler, a photographer, a lover of horror, and a dog mom. Beautiful, Frightening and Silent is her debut novel.

I loved the title of this book. It was poetic, and I appreciated the author’s efforts in her debut novel, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. Just because ghosts are mentioned doesn’t mean a book should be in the horror genre. I wouldn’t even really call it a paranormal romance, maybe contemporary drama…

My favorite parts of the book were the flashback scene of the car crash and Adam’s downward spiral before going to the haunted mansion. Once he arrived on Dagger Island, I was confused on what was going on plot-wise. The ending definitely left me confused. I ended up with questions that left me frustrated as a reader. Why was the son hiding? What was so special about “mother’s” room? Did these people already know their fates? Etc, etc, etc

My favorite lines: 1) Anthony grew up with the reality of a haunting, the same way other children grow up with the facts of grass being green and snow being cold. 2) She hears the rattling of death, climbing out from the deepest parts of his lungs each time he exhales 3) Somethings, even uninvited, come back to stay.

To read the rest of my review, please check out Ginger Nuts of Horror 🙂

Keep smiling,

Yawatta Hosby

Thanks Horror Writers Association For Giving Me A Shout-Out!!!

image copyrighted by Horror Writers Association website

I’m one of those annoying people that celebrate their birthday for the whole month. Hey, at least I’m self-aware lol. When Linda D. Addison approached me to be featured in the Horror Writers Association for The Seers’ Table July 2020 edition, I jumped at the opportunity! A good start to my birthday 🙂

I want to thank Linda D. Addison, and I also give a big thank you to Ed Hoornaert. Please check out the link to see me and other talented authors: The Seers’ Table July 2020.

Keep smiling,

Yawatta Hosby

Please Check Out My Interview. It Would Really Mean A Lot :)

image copyrighted by I Am Sterp blog

I haven’t blogged in quite some time because I’ve been depressed about the ugliness in the world. Even though I haven’t written any blog posts, I stayed pretty active on Twitter and Facebook about the injustices in the world. And I’ve been pretty vocal in supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.

I want to thank Stephanie Evelyn for asking me to do an interview. Usually I try and keep everything bottled in–fighting my struggles, fighting my anxiety, fighting my depression alone. But no more silence. It took a lot for me to be vulnerable during my interview like this; however, the experience will make me a stronger person.

If you want to check out my very first interview that isn’t author related, then please click on the link: Black Lives Still Matter, and Will Always Matter.

Keep smiling,

Yawatta Hosby