Rami Ungar the Writer’s 15th Bloggaversary

Posted: August 2, 2026 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Reflections
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Happy birthday to the blog,
Happy birthday to the blog.
Happy Birthday to Rami Ungar the Writer.
Happy birthday tot he blog.

Well, this snuck up on me. But it’s true: today is the fifteenth anniversary of when this blog first came online. I still remember the day in the library that I created the blog. I had no idea what I was doing, and those early posts really show it. Still, I kept blogging, blogging several times a month (occasionally several times a day). And now, this blog is just under half the age. And it’s been around longer than some of my own IRL relationships, if you can believe it.

And it’s even harder to believe when you think about how transient anything online can be. Especially blogs. Some have lasted for years but have been shut down for any of a thousand reasons, including creator burnout or lack of interest. Others have transitioned to vlogs or to short form platforms like Twitter or Instagram. Many more blogs may last a couple of months or years at most, with their writers getting bored, too busy to keep blogging, or discouraged by lack of numbers.

Honestly, that last one could have done me in once upon a time. I mention this every bloggaversary, but I still remember how I was posting frequently back in college and only getting maybe one or two views a day, if any. I often wondered if I was just spinning my wheels uselessly, trying to get people interested in books that might never come out. Thankfully, I’m stubborn and optimistic, and I kept telling myself that, with time, I would gain a larger audience and see people respond to what I was putting out there in bigger numbers.

As it turned out, I was right. With consistency, and learning what made for a decent reading experience on a blog, I gained an audience. At the time I’m writing this, Rami Ungar the Writer has gained:

  • 305,591 views
  • 1,484 followers (bloggers and email sign ups)
  • 2,294 posts (including this one)
  • 8,820 likes
  • 6,850 comments
  • 1,236,744 words

(I know it’s considered a little cringe to list your stats like that, but it’s the 15th anniversary of this blog. I’m allowed a little leeway, right?)

But best of all, through this blog, I’ve gained not just readers, but friends. I said before that this blog has lasted longer than some relationships. However, some relationships are because of this blog, and a few have even been around as long as this blog. (I was actually messaging one of these friends on Friday, and messaged them today. We make each other laugh.)

And whether they’re friends or not, everyone following this blog is a Follower of Fear. That probably includes you, if you’re reading this. You’ve stuck with me from when I started college, through my higher education, graduation and an internship abroad, a grueling job search and starting my new job, the pandemic, and everything else that’s come with. Plus, there’s been my writing journey. From my early short stories and self-published books, to finding publishers for Rose and Hannah and Other Stories, to self-publishing books like The Pure World Comes and Symphony for Walpurgis, and now trying to find homes for books like The Shape of Evil.

Plus, numerous short stories and articles published in a variety of venues.

And the many events I’ve vended at.

Photo by Thirdman on Pexels.com

And that one time my friends and I formed a small press to publish an anthology focused on Ohio horror writers.

And my time with the Horror Writers Association and running the Ohio chapter of the organization.

And all the stuff I’m working on now.

The point is, through this blog, you guys have continued to support me and even read and review my work. And I want you to know that I am incredibly grateful for that support. I hope you’ll continue to watch my journey as I work towards becoming a full-time writer and create great stories that entertain and frighten all who read them.

(Speaking of which, if you’re interested, I’ll leave the link to my books page down below. From plant/human hybrids and strange gods to Mafia-hunting serial killers and carnivorous horses, I have something for every horror fan, including some free stuff. And if you end up reading something, I hope you’ll leave a review. Not only do reviews help me out, but they help other readers as well.)

Anyway, that’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’ve got stuff to do today, so I better get to it. But don’t worry, I’ll be sure to celebrate this anniversary somehow. Maybe I’ll even have a tiny slice of cake or something. You never know.

Until next time, my Followers of Fear (which may be very soon), good night, pleasant nightmares, and 90 days till Halloween. if you’re not getting ready for spooky season, what are you doing with your life?

Rami Ungar’s Books

Updates on “Crawler”

Posted: July 23, 2026 in Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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You know, I thought I would have this post out much sooner than this. But things have been busy these last two weeks. There’s been work, the Columbus Book Festival,* an article to write, and even submitting a short story for Bram Stoker consideration (if you didn’t know, that takes a lot more work than you know). All that slowed me down and kept me from working on my writing.

Oh, I may have also written a poem and a flash fiction piece on the spur of the moment. That took up an afternoon.

But I have finally done it. As of last night, I have finished going over all the chapters of Crawler I’ve previously written.

Now, if you didn’t know, Crawler is the tentative name of a mummy novel I started writing in 2022. I got about eight chapters in before stuff involving Hannah and Other Stories popped up and I had to put it on the back burner. And then, through various circumstances and lots of projects, four years passed. And I have not been happy with myself for letting it sit unfinished for so long.

That’s why I decided to make sure I got back to it this summer. And I’m happy to say, as of last night, I’m all caught up with the story thus far.

So, how is Crawler so far? Well, I knew in the four years there were things I would need to change. I even had a few ideas of what needed to change. However, even I was surprised by how many flaws I noticed. Granted, it’s a first draft, so flaws are par for the course. But there were quite a few parts where I was like, “What the hell? That makes no sense! Why would this or that character do something like that?”

I also ended up cutting a lot of sections that were unnecessary or rewriting others so they flowed better and didn’t stick out like sore thumbs. Or changed the characters’ motivations or feelings so they would fit better in the story. And my God, did I do so much work to make the timeline make more sense.

I guess it’s a sign of how much I’ve matured, both as a person and as a writer, in these four years. Then again, it has been four years, and a lot has happened. I’ve read lots of books, written and published lots of new stories, and had all sorts of experience. It’s natural I’ve learned a few tricks and gotten a bit better at writing stories. Not to mention noticing the issues my stories have before I let others see them.

So, what’s next? Well, obviously the next time I work on it, it’ll be the first time I’ve written new material for Crawler in four years. I’m looking forward to it, but I’m also worried that it’ll take forever to get through the rest of the book. Hell, I’m worried it’ll take time just to get through a single chapter! Just the first eight are around thirty-six thousand words, or a decent-sized novella. Yeah, this book is going to be a doorstopper when it’s done.

And you never know what life will throw at you. For all I know, next week I could get told to edit something for publication, and spend a month just doing that!

Well, no reason to get worried about what might or might not happen. I’ll keep working on Crawler and hopefully make some good progress before the summer is out. Hell, maybe I’ll even be finished with it by the end of the year. I’m going to try and see if I can make it happen!

Anyway, that’s all for now. It’s late, I’m tired, and I have work tomorrow, so I should get ready for bed. Hopefully I have something to post about very soon. If not about Crawler, then maybe some good news or some thoughts on writing. You never know.

So, until next time, my Followers of Fear, good night and pleasant nightmares.

*BTW, this year I hit a new record. 51 books sold! I’ve never had such a successful festival before. Hopefully it’s not the last time I have such success, either.

Review: “It Came from Neverland” by Cynthia Pelayo

Posted: July 16, 2026 in Novel, Review, Scary Stuff
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Peter Pan is a character/story that every child loves growing up. However, as we actually grow up, not only do we see the tragedy of the character, but you also realize he’s kind of creepy. I mean, he hides outside a window to listen to a girl tell her brothers stories. And in the books, he’s a tyrant who kills the Lost Boys when they get too old, among other things. It’s not surprising that, as the years have gone by, more and more stories have delved into the dark side of Peter Pan.

In Cynthia Pelayo’s take on a dark Peter Pan story, It Came From Neverland, we meet a very different Wendy from the one who appears in J.M. Barrie’s book.* Now in her twenties, the adult Wendy is scarred from her experiences with Peter. She tries her best to move on, teaching at the children’s home that took her in after she and her brothers returned, and reads to soldiers returning from fighting in WWI. But then strange events happen around London. Children get injured or go missing. Mysterious fogs and crows feathers appear all over the place. And Wendy hears a whisper from her past. A whisper belonging to a boy who’s not a boy, whom she thought was dead after he killed so many. And he’s come back for her.

Cynthia Pelayo writes a lot of stories that are reinterpreted fairy tales (I loved her take on the Sleeping Beauty story, Vanishing Daughters), and with It Came From Neverland, that talent is on full display. With strong and concise language, she crafts a suspenseful tale that really lets us get into the head of Wendy Darling, aged into adulthood long before she hit her teen years and trying to survive when the past haunts her everyday. You really get to know her as we see her deal with the return of Peter Pan.

Speaking of which, the relationship between her and Peter was chilling! It’s the definition of an abusive and toxic relationship, with Peter being nice before lying, manipulating, gaslighting, and finding all sorts of ways to belittle Wendy. Just from the short episodes we see, it’s enough to make you shudder from how horrible he is to her.

And like I said, this book is suspenseful. A lot of time is spent showing Peter’s encroachment on Wendy’s life, as well as the life of her brothers. And it is frightening! It reminds me of what Stephen King said about the three types of horror, and how terror is the one that’s hardest to do, because it leaves you with that sense of unease that refuses to go. That terror is put on full display here, creating a frightening atmosphere that lingers long after you put the book down.

My only major criticism is that the parts exploring Wendy’s past with Peter are too short. I didn’t mind that they were out of order, but for a book that was marketed as Peter Pan meets IT, I expected more time spent in the past. To really feel like I was in Neverland with those characters when they were children. What we got was more like short vignettes, and while those were great, I felt like they weren’t enough for me.

However, on the whole, it is a great novel that I practically flew through each time I picked it up. On a scale of 1 to 5, I give It Came From Neverland by Cynthia Pelayo a 4.8 out of 5. This is definitely one to settle down with. Just be careful, though. You might end up hooked!

*By the way, Barrie’s mentioned in the book as someone who heard Wendy’s story and twisted it into the child-friendly version we know today. And can I just say, I love that he’s as much a hack in the book as I’ve always thought he was? I got a laugh out of that.

Review: “Angel Down” by Daniel Kraus

Posted: July 4, 2026 in Novel, Review, Scary Stuff
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You might have heard of this novel, even if you haven’t read it or even if you don’t read horror. That’s because it recently won the Pulitzer Prize, the first horror novel to ever do so. And given the stature of the Pulitzer Prize, that’s quite the accomplishment (though as my friend and colleague Kevin Wetmore noted while hosting the Bram Stoker Awards last month, “a horror novel wins the Bram Stoker award every year”). Recognizing what a big deal this is, I decided to check it out and got the audio book. After all, what kind of horror novel wins the Pulitzer Prize?

Well, a rather unusual novel, as it turns out.

Taking place during the Meuse-Argonne offensive in WWI, Angel Down follows Private Cyril Bagger, a con artist who was tricked into enlisting and can’t wait to rooking inexperienced gamblers back in the States. He is commanded by Major General Reis, the commander in the offensive, to go and find the source of an unearthly shrieking that is causing the men to go insane. If it turns out to be a soldier dying slowly, they are to put him out of his misery. Bagger is joined by four other soldiers; Private Louis Arno, an illiterate teenager who lied about his age to enlist and has attached himself to Bagger like a koala to its mother; Private Hugh Popkin, a violent meathead with no brains, a raging case of the clap, and an even stronger raging case for a girl back home; Private Vincent Goodspeed, a twitchy graverobber who steals from the bodies of the dead to sell to both sides; and Private Ben Veck, the group’s only black soldier, who is suffering from PTSD and wants to believe he’s been chosen for a greater purpose.

Upon finding the source of the shrieking, they discover it’s an angel in the form of a human woman. One that resembles someone each of the men know. Realizing that the ambitious Reis would use the angel for his own purposes, they go AWOL and take the angel with them, leading to an unavoidable chain of events that will not only change their lives, but maybe even change the world.

So, like I said, this is a rather unusual novel. Angel Down is apparently written in the style of a single, continuous sentence (as I had the audio book, I could only half tell), so every tenth word is an “and” or a “so.” This is nothing new in literature, as plenty of novels, most famously The Waves by Virginia Woolf, has been written this way. I’m assuming Kraus wrote it this way because stream-of-consciousness style writing like this was popular among Modernist writers post-WWI, and he’s paying tribute to that. Plus, it makes the novel stand out.

However, I did hear from plenty of fellow horror fans who find the writing style grating. And honestly, I understood; I could only listen to the audio book during certain moods, like when I was driving or cooking. Otherwise, the style would get under my skin in a bad way. (And the narrator, bless him, narrated the book so that it at least sounded like it had normal sentences.)

All that aside, most of the characters are fully realized, especially Bagger. He’s the son of a preacher who doesn’t believe in anything except himself and controlling his life. At the same time, he’s also perturbed that he likes Arno and protect the kid, and the events of the novel set him on a path of transformation. Arno and Veck are also quite sympathetic, especiallyt he latter after you learn more about him. And Reis and Popkin are easy to hate (especially Popkin).

As for the angel…she’s an enigma. She sets things in motion and for most of the novel is a MacGuffin that motivates the characters. However, later on, she does start to affect the story and the characters more, and it’s…it’s hard to tell how I should feel about her. To like her or hate her. To consider her hero or villain. Or maybe she’s just the bringer of revelations? I guess any and all of those opinions work, given that she’s an angel, and therefore beyond our ordinary comprehensions. But still, she’s a lot and it makes it hard to pin down your feelings about her.

Finally, I will say that the book does a great job of getting the horrors of war through to the reader. Just like All Quiet on the Western Front did nearly a full century ago, it does not hold back. From descriptions of the bodies covered in clay and blood, to the fear each soldier feels when German bullets or mortar fire flies overhead, to the abstract depictions of the “engines of war,” it is enough to dissuade some readers that any good can come of war. (Something some of our current crop of leaders could learn from.)

Overall, I think I will give Angel Down by Daniel Kraus a 3.8 out of 5. The narration style may not be to everyone’s tastes, but the story, characters, and themes are engaging and make you want to keep going. I can see why this book won the Pulitzer Prize. And if you decide to read it, perhaps you will, too.

Also, Happy Fourth of July, my Followers of Fear. Whatever you’re doing this Independence Day, stay safe and have fun!

Conversations with Tamika Thompson

Posted: June 24, 2026 in Author Interciew, Novel, Scary Stuff, Writing
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Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of reviewing The Curse of Hester Gardens by Tamika Thompson (see my review here). To say the least, it was quite the read. And since I’m lucky enough to be friends with its author, I thought I would pick her thoughts and see what she has to say about her book. So, ladies, gentlemen, and non-binary nobility, please welcome to the blog Tamika Thompson!

Rami Ungar: Welcome to my blog, Tamika. Tell us about yourself and your new novel, The Curse of Hester Gardens.

Tamika Thompson: I’m originally from Detroit, and I grew up about a mile away from a public housing project called Herman Gardens, which is a strong architectural inspiration for Hester Gardens. At eighteen, I left Detroit to attend Columbia University, where I studied Political Science. I went on to the University of Southern California to study journalism, and it was there that I reported on gang violence in Southern California. After graduation, I worked for several years as a journalist, and eventually spent two years researching gun violence in America. The lived experience, studies in global and national politics, and journalism background all came together in this debut novel.

The Curse of Hester Gardens is a gothic novel set in a public housing project that follows one mother, Nona McKinley, whose oldest son is shot to death and whose husband is in prison, as she faces the twin specters of a supernatural curse and gun violence while trying to keep her remaining sons alive in their high-crime neighborhood.

RU: Tell us about your main character Nona McKinley. I find her quite the compelling lead.

TT: I am the first to admit that Nona has flaws. Having grown up in a public housing project and then attempting to raise three boys in another public housing project on the other side of the fictional town of Medford, Michigan, she is parenting in the worst possible circumstances in a high-crime neighborhood. She still tries to find joy, pleasure, and some semblance of normalcy in a terrible system of oppression and predation. She is strong and God-fearing, but she’s also having an affair with the married church pastor!

I see her on a continuum with Peter, the leader of the local Hester Boys gang. Readers believe Peter to be a villain, and I believe both Nona and Peter are capable of tremendous love and tenderness and also tremendous hatred and violence.

RU: I would describe Hester Gardens as “unflinching,” especially in its exploration of gun violence, urban violence, and urban neglect. What was writing a novel that explored all of that, and was also a frightening supernatural novel, like?

TT: It was an emotional journey, and it was years in the making. This story was being written inside of me before I was even a writer. The book is dedicated to my late uncle, who was shot to death when I was young. I mine a lot of my personal experience to tell this story. I also spent two years researching the epidemic of gun violence in America. When I sat to write, it took me five years to bring it together before I ever let an agent read it.

I’m happy when a reader tells me the novel made them cry because I cried a lot when I wrote it. I love all of my characters. None of them are villains to me because they’ve all been traumatized and oppressed by this country.

Balancing the social with the supernatural was a manageable task because I stuck with Nona’s story, her grief over losing her oldest son and how that colored every experience she had and every decision she made after. Her panic about keeping her remaining boys safe drives the narrative, as well as her personal isolation and terror over not being believed by those around her. I let that carry the story, and I think that naturally creates the balance.

RU: You also explored gun violence as a theme in your short story, “The Creak in the Attic.” Which, coincidentally, was the first story I ever read by you. What was it like to work with that theme in a novel versus a short story?

TT: “The Creak on the Attic Stairs” appeared in The Rack Vol. 2, edited by Tom Deady, and it not only deals with the American gun violence epidemic, but it also is set in the same story world as The Curse of Hester Gardens. Tackling gun violence in a short horror story is in some ways harder because you have to showcase the haunting of grief, the perceived supernatural remnants of the dead, as well as let the reader in on the shock and outrage that gun violence creates with fewer words. Guns hurt people, and there is less space in a short piece to make that point and get around to the hope at the end. Because I believe the hope is necessary for the conversation on ending gun violence to continue.

RU: Can you tell us about some of your other works?

TT: Short stories are my first love. I’ve had works published in Interzone, Andromeda Spaceways, and Prairie Schooner, as well as turned into audio on the Creepy podcast and translated into Italian.

My first book-length publication was a multi-genre anthology that I co-edited called Graffiti. It included essays, fiction, and poetry, with works that were speculative and real. It won a Foreword INDIES Award for anthologies.

I also gathered my published short stories with original works and brought them together in a single-author collection called Unshod, Cackling, and Naked, which won the Next Generation Indie Book Award for Horror.

RU: What are you working on now? And what are your plans for the future?

TT: I am working on a standalone second novel, which is still squarely in the horror genre and tackles a social issue, but with a cast of characters and setting that couldn’t be more different from The Curse of Hester Gardens.

I am also working on a sci fi fantasy novella, and another all-speculative story collection.

I’m still also writing short stories. That part of my writing practice never goes away.

RU: What advice would you give other authors, regardless of background or experience?

TT: Persevere on behalf of your stories! I’ve met a lot of extremely talented authors who could write circles around me, and their work doesn’t make it into the world because they don’t make it to the finish line on their manuscripts. I believe the author’s first job is to persevere in completing a manuscript. Both drafting and revising. Revision is where the author earns readers, so keep going. Persevere!

RU: Final question: pretend you’re stuck on a desert island for a while and you can only bring three books with you till you’re picked up. What books are you bringing with you?

TT: Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison. It is arguable that Beloved is Morrison’s magnum opus, but I have always been drawn to the characters in Song of Solomon, particularly Pilate and Guitar. Morrison’s prose is intricate across all her books, but Milkman Dead’s journey of self-discovery is a powerful one, and the idea of Guitar’s Seven Days mission haunts me even now. Movements for civil and human rights by black people have only ever sought equity in America, but what if we decided to seek revenge? An eye for an eye? I shudder to think.

Middle Passage, Charles Johnson. I had the privilege of having a conversation with Johnson during a class I took early on in my writing practice and his tutelage on story and plot was foundational in my own practice. Middle Passage is not only brilliant, but a master class in creating work that is subversive.

Giovanni’s Room and The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin —I know I cheated on this one, but it is impossible to choose just one text by Baldwin. So, I went with my favorite of his fiction and non-fiction works. (To further cheat, may I suggest after reading The Fire Next Time to check out Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, as the latter is in conversation with the former?)

RU: I’ll allow it, since I remember Song of Solomon from college and considered it quite the powerful novel. Thank you for joining us, Tamika. I hope I can have you back here on the blog someday.

If you would like to find out more about Tamika, you can check out her website and social media, which I will link to below. And make sure to check out The Curse of Hester Gardens, which is definitely one of the best new novels of the year.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I hope you enjoyed this interview and will tune in for more. And until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares.

Tamika’s Website
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Updates on What I’m Doing

Posted: June 22, 2026 in Progress Report, Writing
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You know, the last time I did one of these posts, I had barely anything to say other than I’d done a new draft of The Shape of Evil. I just wanted to let people know all the things I was juggling at that time.

Well, eight months have passed since then, and things are moving faster than a cheetah running from a shoggoth (or seem to be). So, since who knows what might happen from day to day, I am going to give you guys some updates on what I’ve been up to lately.

First, The Shape of Evil. As I said in my last post on the book, I rewrote the book to be a Young Adult novel and undid some of the changes I made in the fourth draft. Now, this crazy little novel about a 3D printer from Hell has been sent out to publishers and agents, and hopefully I’ll get a bite. I won’t say if there’s been any interest or not, in case that somehow jinxes me. But I will say that I have lots of reasons to hope. Who knows? Maybe by the end of this summer, I’ll be able to announce something regarding the book.

In the meantime, I have some short stories to work on. As some of you may remember, I finished a new story back in April about a guy who thinks his stepdad is Sweeney Todd. I got some feedback on the first section of that story from my critique group, so I’m going to go over their feedback and make some edits based on what they say. Then I’ll edit the rest of the story before getting some beta reader feedback. Hopefully after the beta reader has given me some feedback and I’ve done another draft, I can find a home for this story.

My writing life lately.

I also have a science fiction story that I literally just finished last night. It’s focused on alchemy and homunculi, and even though it’s the first draft, I feel like it’s really strong work. I’ll probably give that an edit and then find a beta reader for it as well fairly soon. Hopefully after going through taht process, I can find this story a home as well.

Of course, that might be difficult. Both stories are novelettes, and the Sweeney Todd one is close to short novella length. I just can’t help but want to write epics, it seems. Still, I want to try. I’ve found homes for stories that I never thought I would find homes for before. Maybe I can do it again.

And guess what? After leaving it on the back burner for so long, I am finally going to get back to working on Crawler! Now, if you’re unfamiliar, Crawler was a mummy novel I started in 2022 after moving into my condo. And then working on Hannah and Other Stories put it on the back burner. And then other stuff kept coming up, and The Shape of Evil became a novel when I thought it would be a novelette, and the next thing I knew, four years had gone by!

That has always been a thorn in my side. I have this novel that I think would make a great story, but it’s sitting there, halfway done, and still unfinished! Well, this summer, I aim to change that. I’m first going to edit the Sweeney Todd story, and then I’ll work on Crawler. Maybe if I need a break, I’ll work on the alchemy story and other short works, but Crawler will be the priority. And maybe, if I’m lucky, I’ll have another novel written by the end of the year.

Or not. Something could come along that upsets this schedule and forces me to change gears or priorities. There’s always a possibility of that. You never know. Life is constant change, after all. But for now, this is the plan I’m sticking to.

Oh, I’m also applying for a grant next month. With any luck, that will help with some new projects in the near future. But that will have to wait until next month.

Like a cheetah from a shoggoth, I’m running towards my goals.

And in the meantime, as you are no doubt aware, the Columbus Book Festival is next month! If you’re in the Columbus, Ohio area on July 11th and 12th, stop by the Columbus Metropolitan Library’s downtown branch and the adjoining Topiary Park for a festival featuring authors, merchants, dancers, food trucks, and so much more! Me and my friends in HWA Ohio will have a tent there again this year, and we’re looking forward to meeting so many readers, both new and familiar. So, if you can, please stop by. We would love to see you.

And if you can’t stop by and would still like to support me, or you’re just looking for a scary book to read, you can check out any of my books! From strange gods and plant/human hybrids to carnivorous horses and Mafia-hunting serial killers, I have something for every horror fan, including some free stories. I’ll leave a link to my books page below. And if you like what you read, please leave a review online so I know what you thought.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’m off to enjoy the rest of my evening so I have the energy to do some editing later this week. Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares.

Rami Ungar’s Books

“Rose:” Seven Years Since Publication

Posted: June 20, 2026 in Novel, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, Writing
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Hello, my Followers of Fear. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Well, that couldn’t be helped. I had StokerCon the first week of June, and then I had a whole to-do list to go through after I got back. Finally, I had my first week back at work, and that took up a lot of my time and attention. Not a lot of time for blogging, all told.

But now, there is an opportunity to blog, and I want to talk to you about something very special: my novel Rose turns seven years old today.

If you’re unfamiliar, Rose is my second horror novel and my first book published with a publisher. I started it as my college thesis project back in 2014, and in 2017/2018, reedited it with the hopes of getting it professionally published. After doing some self-publishing, I thought it would be great to try and see f I get it out there with the help of a publisher. In 2018, Rose was accepted by Castrum Press, and then released on June 20, 2019.

As for the story itself, it’s kind of out there: it’s about a young woman who’s turned into a plant/human hybrid via a magic book. As she tries to navigate the changes in her life, she realizes that not everyone is whom they seem, leading to a desperate fight for survival. Real Kafkaesque fantasy-horror, and with a lot of Japanese elements mixed in.

And I’m happy to say, people have enjoyed the book since it came out. Rose has been one of my bestselling books, and the one that has made some of my most ardent Followers of Fear. But don’t take my word for it: see what the reviewers have been saying.

In this work, Rami Ungar paints a captivating picture of Japanese folklore and magic, which serves as a backdrop for a story about captivity, manipulation, and possession! His narrative style also captures the dread and claustrophobia of being a captive, not to mention the twisted pathology of the captor! Scary stuff, and all the while you’re rooting for the bad guys to get their just desserts!

Matt Williams, author of The Cronian Incident, Goodreads

Just finished what has been the best book I’ve read so far this year. Mind you, I’m lucky if I can read a book a month. Be that as it may, “Rose” by Rami Unger was a real treat and a book I was eager to get back into as quickly as possible. Well-written, well-paced plot, interesting characters and twists all along the way. – There were a few times I was confused about the setting and the font used was WAY too small, imo, but these issues weren’t so much that it ruined the story at all. 4 out of 5 stars.

Pamela A. Parish, Amazon

This is a very interesting and unique story that I didn’t want to put down! The creativity and overall premise of the story is very enjoyable. The story is a combination of supernatural elements & some mind/body horror mixed in. It’s a fast paced and entertaining read with darkness and surprises. The narrator did a great job with the audiobook as well.

Alison O, Audible

I must find more books like this. I loved every minute of this suffocating tale. Rose is thrown into the arms of Paris and given a second chance at life. But with a twist. I don’t want to give anything away but this was one of the most psychologically-horrifying and gut-wrenching and unsettling stories I’ve read. Not only are we subjected to, and living through, a relationship with a controlling and mysterious (not in a good way) man, but there are sinister forces at play, and Rose only falls deeper and deeper into a dark situation as the story goes on. I couldn’t have asked for a better ending, and while it truly hurt to read, I closed the book content and at peace with it. The blend of nature and magic and evil and family ties make this entirely relatable and realistic, even with the supernatural elements. Fantastic.

Amanda Rusza, author of The House is Sick, Goodreads

High praise. I’m humbled by what people have been saying. You see, this novel was not easy getting to this point. The novel went through several false starts before I managed to get through a chapter and then move forward. From there, it took about eight months to write the first draft, and then a few more drafts before graduation. During the publishing process, I ended up chucking about a third of the book because it wasn’t necessary for the story, and then the other third for relying on that third, leading to a total rewrite.

Finally, the book came out, and I’ve overcome many hurdles just to get it read by people. Still, I’m happy to see the effort has paid off in many ways. And with the seventh anniversary of its publication, I’m hoping that it will reach even more people. After all, not many books out there where the horror is derived from becoming a plant-person, is there?

If you would like to read Rose, I will include links to purchase it below. It’s available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook. And if you like what you read, please leave a review online! Positive or negative, I love reader feedback, and it helps both me and other readers out in the long run.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’m off to do some writing and then celebrate with some wine and movies tonight. Hopefully, it won’t be another two weeks or more before you hear from me on this blog again! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy reading Rose and keeping up with me on my social media.

Until next time (hopefully very soon), good night and pleasant nightmares.

Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon Canada
Audible
Barnes & Noble

Review: “The Curse of Hester Gardens” by Tamika Thompson

Posted: June 1, 2026 in Novel, Review, Scary Stuff
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I first met Tamika Thompson last year on the Diversity in Horror panel at StokerCon. Later, I read a short story by her that I really enjoyed, and she told me her debut novel was coming out soon that explored similar themes as her short story. I was immediately intrigued and, as soon as I could, I made a reservation at the library. The book arrived at the same time as Japanese Gothic (see my review for that book here), and as soon as I finished that one, I got into The Curse of Hester Gardens.

I have to say, it’s nice when you get two excellent novels in a row.

Set in a public housing complex with a history of crime and violence, The Curse of Hester Gardens follows Nona McKinley, a woman who has been raising her sons on her own since her drug dealer husband was sent to prison. Sadly, her oldest son Kendall was murdered, money is always tight, and her younger son Lance is getting mixed into a bad crowd. Her only salvation is that her middle son Marcus is off to an Ivy League college in the fall.

Except…something terrifying is happening in Hester Gardens. Things are always weird there, as numerous spirits are said to haunt the place. But now, something new is making itself known. Nona is encountering what might be an angry spirit appearing in her home, Marcus is acting very much unlike himself, and the fragile life she’s constructed for her family seems to be crashing down around her. All of it may trace to a secret she’s been keeping. A secret covered in blood. And the residents of Hester Gardens may pay the price with Nona.

From the prologue, I was hooked. The story is written with a powerful realism, mixing in the real life tragedies of gun violence, urban decay and neglect, overincarceration, and others with the fictional narrative to add believability. Plus, the descriptions allowed me to really see and feel like I was in Hester Gardens (not a fun place to imagine yourself in, let me tell you). I could almost smell the garbage that is hardly ever picked up!

I also empathized with main character Nona. She’s had a really rough time and is trying her best, so it’s not hard to root for her. She’s also very human and makes mistakes, some of which are understandable given her situation, and that helped me like her more. The other characters whose POVs we look through also were written so that, even if we only spent maybe a chapter or two with them, they felt like well-rounded characters.

And the scares? Top notch! The concept of the curse and the spirits in Hester Gardens made for a freaky audience, and the human factor added to those scares as well. Plus, there were some scenes with the entities that had me gripping my book so tightly. (That hole-in-the-bathroom scene!)

Finally, the story kept me guessing throughout. I had trouble guessing where the story would go, especially in the last hundred pages or so. I read quite a few moments with wide eyes because I could not believe where the story had gone!

So yeah, I’m hard-pressed to pick out anything I didn’t like. On a scale of 1 to 5, I would give The Curse of Hester Gardens a 4.8 out of 5. Powerfully written, with strong emotions and realism. If this is Tamika Thompson’s first novel, I can’t wait to see what she does with her second.

In the meantime, grab a copy of The Curse of Hester Gardens and read it today. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did.

An Update on “The Shape of Evil”

Posted: May 31, 2026 in Novel, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, Writing
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No, it’s not getting published. If it were, I would have announced that in the title of this post. But I am going to give you all updates on how that effort is coming along.

So, for those of you who don’t know, The Shape of Evil is a novel I wrote about a 3D printer from Hell. Think “Word Processor of the Gods” crossed with Gothic by Phillip Fracassi, but with lots of LGBT and disabled representation. I wrote it in 2024, and then prepared it for pitching at StokerCon last year. I even had sensitivty readers take a look at the second draft, just to make sure my portrayal of my protagonist, a non-binary trans individual, wasn’t offensive.

Since I pitched it to publishers and agent last year, I’ve continued trying to find the novel a home. And I’ve had a few rejections, which I expected. I wasn’t even too bummed about them. No, seriously, I wasn’t. They felt less like dead ends, and more like stops on the road for finding a home for this novel. And I still have prospects I’m looking into or waiting to hear back from, so I’m not feeling any despair right now. If I’m being honest, all I feel is anticipation. Like something is coming down the road, and it’s what I’ve been waiting for since that pitch session last year.

And in the meantime, I’ve kept busy. Not only have I worked on some new stories, but I’ve even done two new drafts of The Shape of Evil. And guess what? On the second draft, I had a revelation: this was a YA novel I was working on. Yeah, you would think I would notice, with teen protagonists, only one really bloody scene, and a few other factors. But you know what they say: artists and authors are often their own worst judges. And given that it took me two years to realize this, I prove that maxim to be true.

So, I went back to the beginning of the draft, and started editing with the goal of editing a YA novel instead of an adult novel. I even switched the book from third person point of view to first person point of view, because that’s a staple of the genre. (Also, with my protagonist Astrid Marsh being non-binary and using they/them pronouns, it cut down on the number of “theys” and “thems” in the manuscript. Much less confusing for readers.) And as of last night, the new draft is finished. Hopefully this is the one that catches an agent or publisher’s eye and makes them want to publish it.

For now, though, I plan on not doing anything with the new draft until after StokerCon. Gotta make time to relax and have fun, after all.

Also, I have other stories I plan to work on. There’s a science fiction story I have been excited to work on since I had the idea back in late March. And after that, I will finally get back to working on my mummy novel Crawler. And this time, I hope to finish it!

But in the meantime, I’m going to celebrate the end of the new draft with a quiet movie night and a bottle of wine. Gotta celebrate the wins, right? And finishing a fifth draft where I rewrote the novel to first person POV and made sure it fit the YA genre is definitely a win.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’ll try to be in touch again as soon as possible, StokerCon and other things going on permitting. But until then, good night and pleasant nightmares, everybody!

Review: “Statues” by Junji Ito

Posted: May 20, 2026 in Review, Scary Stuff
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The more stories I read by Junji Ito, the more I think that the reason his stories can be so hit-or-miss with me may have something to do with page count. Like prose writers have word count limits when submitting stories to magazines and anthologies, manga artists have a page count limit they must adhere to. And for an artist like Ito, where he tells mostly self-contained stories rather than an ongoing series, that can have its disadvantages in telling the equivalent of a short story.

With his latest collection, Statues, Ito gives us ten stories that are mostly good or, at the very least, interesting. And yes, before I start, the artwork in each story is perfect. Like all Ito stories, it is extremely detailed and even capable of giving me a shiver or too.

Some of the stand out stories include “Red Thread,” which follows a teenage boy whose body becomes covered in red stitches following his break up with his girlfriend (in Japan, destined lovers are said to be tied together by a red thread). The story wavers between whether the lead’s red thread with his ex is now tangling around him, if his late grandmother is doing some old tradition to protect him, or if this is the beginning of some strange disease, and it’s honestly fascinating to watch. Another stand out is “The Circus Has Come to Town,” where an entire town’s men become obsessed with a beautiful circus performer, even as her costars die in horrible ways during the course of the show. Something about that story, and the lengths some people will go for a pretty girl, just stays with the reader. Another story, “Town of Maps,” has a very fun premise with a great ending, and “Scarecrow” takes a bonkers premise, runs with it, and makes it work.

As for some of the other stories, most of them weren’t bad. At least, not really. Some were just two short, and it shows. The titular story, “Statues,” as well as the final story, “Suicide Note,” both have great story ideas, and the scary imagery to match them. However, “Statues” seems to end rather abruptly, and “Suicide Note” ends with a twist in the last few pages that feels kind of forced. Like Ito knew he only had a few pages and couldn’t think of any other way to end it. They’re great stories, don’t get me wrong, but I feel like if Ito were given more pages to work with, they could be better.

Oh, and there’s one story, “Die Young,” that caught my attention, but not necessarily in a good way. Set in 1999, it tells of a strange phenomenon where girls considered ugly suddenly start getting pretty. However, their beauty comes with a price, and their health fails after a few days. It was published in 1991, and just feels really dated in 2026. There’s some speculation online Ito wrote the story with the theme of accepting oneself and your looks, as well as the consequences of pursuing beauty. However, it just comes off cringey to me in this day and age.

All in all, I give Statues by Junji Ito a 3.6 out of 5. While it’s not his best collection, there are some great stories in there, and some that would have shone even more if given more room. If you like Ito’s work, you’ll want to get a copy right away. If you’re just getting into him, then this is a decent enough collection to get a feel for his work, though there are better ones out there.

One thing’s for sure: as long as he keeps putting out collections, I’ll likely keep reading them and letting you know what I think. After all, with that artwork and some of these stories, how can I not?

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