Day 10 - Erik Gustafson: Leigh M. Lane

First, I would like to thank Lacey for offering a spot on the "31 Books of Halloween"

I love Halloween! Doesn't everybody that spins tales of horror and the paranormal? I suppose so. Every year we do up our yard in wicked fashion. We have hung bodies from tree limbs, dug holes in the front yard and hide in it, buried in leaves . . . and sorts of things. This guy say on our porch last year, motioned activated, just like the hand in the jar next to our candy bowl:

I haven't named him yet, although I should.

I will name him some other time, unless you have an idea? Tonight, I want to share a very talented author of paranormal novels with everyone. Someone you should seek out and discover all of her works and read them. I have only read two of her books, but I am working my way through her collection. Both books were amazing: rich with unsettling atmosphere and terrifying twists - with ghosts. I am speaking of Leigh M. Lane

The two gems I am sharing with you on this chilly fall evening are "Finding Poe" and "The Hidden Valley The Whole Story".

Finding Poe is the first novel by Leigh that I had the pleasure to read. I think I won a copy somewhere out there in milky bands of cyberspace, probably a blog. I didn't realize what a terrific prize I had won at the time, until I started speeding through the pages! You can get your copy here .

Who isn't an Edgar Allen Poe fan? His stories are required for anyone with a brain. So you know his tales already and . . . well. Nevermind. No spoilers. Spoilers are always a bad idea, in my opinion. This is a haunting journey of a woman seeking out Poe in the final days before he dies. Trouble is, her surreal journey is a wild ride of shocking events that may or may not be real. Why is she tracking down Poe? She doesn't know, except that he may know something about her own husband's death. The book is beautifully written, almost a hypnotic style of writing that will pull you in, snuggle with you, and lull you into a happy addiction.

The second book is "The Hidden Valley: The Whole Story", which can be purchased here.

Why is it called "The Hidden Valley, the Whole Story"? Why wouldn't a book be a whole story without having to inform the reader of that fact in title? That's the amazing part; the savory sweet stuff that makes Ms. Lane such an amazing writer. She takes risks and is innovative like that. The Hidden Valley can be enjoyed in a variety of ways. Other editions tell the character's story individually, each volume offering a different slant. Also, each chapter is a stand-alone piece of flash fiction. She calls it an "experiment in structure." In other words, a really cool concept. The Hidden Valley is a ghost story at heart, but it's much more than that. The hidden valley hides a ghost town from the rest of the world, a ghost town that a certain family just happens to be moving to, to get away from the problems and start a happy new life. Only a completely new set of problems awaits them. Check it out. I'm not kidding. This is a great story.

Bottom line: don't miss out on Leigh M. Lane and her chilling yarns. It's a little too early to start carving pumpkins, but not too early to go buy a couple of the fat orange melons and start fantasizing about carving them up . . .

Erik Gustafson, Horror Writer. 

Check out my novel "Fall Leaves and the Black Dragon" along with my other stories at my Amazon Author Page or at Smashwords