Thrills and Chills

Hallowe'en is nearly upon us, like a scary shadow looming out of the dark.

And what better way to celebrate the spooky, the macabre, the downright frightening, than with a spine-chilling book on the scariest night of the year.

Below, I've listed some of my top picks of the horror books I read in my youth, usually at night under the bed-covers with a torch so my parents wouldn't yell at me to go to sleep. 

Back then, they scared the willies out of me. Do they stand the test of time? I'll let you be the judge. Read them alone, if you dare....

Salem's Lot (1975)

Stephen King is the master of horror. People normally point to The Shining or Carrie as his scarier tales, but for me it was his second novel that did it. Vampires! Taking over a town! The horror stayed with me for a long time.








The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane (1974)

Laird Koening wrote this gripping thriller about Rynn, a 13 year old girl who lives alone and murders people who threaten her. You actually end up rooting for her - but in 2015, readers voted her the 20th most evil child in literature. Psychologically creepy. 

The Rats (1974)

A classic of the 'killer creatures' genre. Giant mutant rats run wild devouring people and pets alive. Contains graphic details of mutilation and death. 10/10 for gross-out material. And it spawned three sequels. Can't say fairer than that.

Squirm (1978)

Man-eating worms on the loose! Okay, it doesn't sound great - but if you like your horror shlocky and gross, this is the one for you. Wierdly, this was a film first and then became a book. Not on a par with James Herbert or Stephen King, but it's a short read, and has some decent squirmy moments.

The Pan Book of Horror Stories (1959-1989)

My horror bible. A gruesome British series of short horror stories collected into thirty volumes. The anthologies cater to all tastes from the macabre, to the chilling, to the horrifically violent and feature tales from such famous authors as Peter Fleming, Bram Stoker, and L.P. Hartley.





There's also a fair bit of carnage in my latest book, 'Daughter of Kali: Infernal Destiny.' Those who have read the first two in the series will know book 2 ended with my main character, Kaz Deva, being taken over by a part-demon part-goddess supernatural force. And to say it's bloodthirsty is an understatement...

Infernal Destiny will be published on Amazon on 24th October. Reviewers and bookbloggers can claim an advance copy at StoryOrigin in exchange for honest reviews on Amazon and Goodreads by clicking here and requesting a free download.

Happy Hallowe'en! And remember... sometimes when things go bump in the night, it's not always nothing.... bwah ha ha ha haaaaaaaaa

Why Am I Here?

Do you ever get that feeling that you shouldn't be where you are? That you've managed, through sheer luck, to achieve something good but any minute now someone's going to find out that you don't deserve it?

I get that feeling a lot with my writing. Every time I offer a book for review, or create a Facebook ad, or tweet a link to it on Amazon, I can't help feeling like a fraud. Who am I to say you should read this? What if you hate it?  What if it's terrible? What if I can't actually write, and I'm just deluding myself?

Maybe you recognise the feeling? A reluctance to believe that anything you do well has value?

This is Imposter Syndrome and it's amazingly common. A study found it affects some 70% of individuals at least once in their life. It's linked, among other things, to perfectionism and a fear of being unsuccessful.  It's also prevalent among high-achievers and women of colour. So, that's pretty much all the boxes ticked for me, then.

Take heart people - we're not alone. Some incredible figures have suffered with Imposter Syndrome, including  Neil Armstrong, Michelle Obama, Tom Hanks, and the author Maya Angelou who once said: “I have written 11 books, but each time I think, ‘Uh oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody, and they’re going to find me out.’” This from someone who won multiple awards!

So apparently what we Imposters have to do is this: 
1) Recognise that sometimes, yes, we will do and say stupid things. IT'S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD!
2) Change your internal rules. You have just as much right to ask for help as the next person.
3) When you succeed - give yourself a pat on the back. Don't feel guilty - you earned this!

Here endeth the pep talk. By the way, I have a new book out, a humourous short story called Soul Quest. It's a 100-page fantasy novella which will hopefully appeal to fans of the late great Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams. 99p/99c on Amazon, or free to my newsletter subscribers.

I'm still feeling the effects of Imposter Syndrome so I'll just say it's, you know, okay, if you like that kind of thing. Click here to buy. Or don't. It's probably not that good.


Daughter of Kali books 1 & 2 on Amazon now. Daughter of Kali book 3 coming soon. Sign up to my newsletter for news of releases www.shiulieghosh.com/author