Posts Tagged ‘horror’

I don’t know if this past week went on forever or went by so quickly. All I know is, Passover is just a few days away and it’s going to be busy preparing for the holiday.

Okay, enough complaining. As you know, I had a new story released last week. “Agoraphobia” follows a young man with severe anxiety who is forced to leave his home when a hurricane bears down on his area. Needless to say, things don’t go as planned. It’s a short, deliciously creepy horror story and I’m quite pleased with it.

And I’m happy to say, the short story has been well-received. Not only have I been getting a lot of people downloading copies, but since the release there’s been an average of a review a day for a total of seven. And even the lowest, a 3-star review, has been very positive. Here has been some of the responses to “Agoraphobia:”

Another great story by Rami Ungar, this one is more traditional horror. (not that there’s anything wrong with non-traditional horror!) As another reviewer said, you can’t say too much about a short without spoiling, so I’ll try to be brief.

Peyton lives alone in a well fortified house. Suffering from Agoraphobia, and secure in the knowledge that his house is safe from everything, he even ignores the coming hurricane. But, alas, it turns out his residence isn’t quite the castle he thought it was. A broken window leaves him with a water soaked carpet and – are those footprints?

Great read, good pacing, with some twists at the end. Highly recommend!

Joleene Naylor, author of the Amaranthine series

An intriguing short story of a man who has problems, sadly those problems are about to get worse. The author does a great job making this short story feel longer with complete content in a short space.

PS Winn, author

I would include more reviews, but as Joleene says, you can’t say too much without spoiling the story. Anyway, thanks to everyone who has read the story so far and has taken the time to leave their thoughts online for others to check out. Your reviews help other readers decide if they want to read it, so it means a lot to me.

Anyway, I’m very pleased with the response to “Agoraphobia.” And now my goal is to get more people reading it. I’m not expecting thousands of readers and adaptation offers, but I would like to make a little splash and expand my audience. We’ll see what occurs (though, being me, I always hope for the best).

If you’re interested, I’ll post links to “Agoraphobia” down below. If you decide to read the story, please let me know what you think somehow. A review, a tweet, or an email works. Positive or negative, I love reader feedback. And as I said, when you leave your thoughts in a public place like Twitter or Amazon, it lets others know and helps them decide whether the story is right for them.

And if you’re interested, I have a lot more stories you can check out on my Amazon author profile. Novels, short stories, and short story collections, plus some of the anthologies I’ve been lucky enough to have stories included in. I got them all and then some. Click this link to check them out.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’ve got a busy Tuesday ahead of me. Work, shopping for Passover, and a beta reading for a colleague. Hopefully afterwards I can work on my mermaid horror story. Until next time, stay safe, happy reading and pleasant nightmares!

Agoraphobia: Goodreads, Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada

Some of you may remember that last year, I wrote a blog post about my fascination with Robert Johnson, an early blues singer whose music and mysterious life has led to all sorts of wild stories about him. Some even believe he sold his soul to the Devil at a crossroads to receive his talent. At the time, I was trying to think up a decent story to wrap around Johnson, but hadn’t come up with anything yet.

Well, I did come up with something. However, I only decided to write it recently after I saw a call for an anthology based around a certain theme. A theme I felt the idea for my Johnson story fit very well. Thus, I ordered Up Jump the Devil, the best Robert Johnson biography out there, from the library for a quick reference guide. And after doing my research this afternoon, I spent this evening writing late into the night.

And what do you know? I finished it all in one sitting.

“Window Audience Blues” follows the famous singer around the time his first wife was pregnant with their first child, and what occurred to him while he was away from her. It was an important turning point in his life, and I thought it was the perfect time to tell this story. And I managed to tell it within thirty-six hundred words too. Not sure how I pulled that off, but I’m glad of it.

Now, as to whether or not it’s any good, I’m not sure. I like to think it’s at least entertaining, but I’m probably biased. In any case, I’ve already reached out on the Horror Writers Association Facebook page to see if anyone wants to beta read the story and let me know what they think. With any luck, I’ll get a few people who can give me some good feedback. Not to mention it’s probably going to need a sensitive reading. After all, Robert Johnson was black and I’m white. The last thing I want to do is to accidentally include something racist or otherwise offensive in the story, especially when I just want to tell an interesting story around a most mysterious and legendary singer.

Well, that’s all for now. It might be a while, but if “Window Audience Blues” gets accepted into the anthology I mentioned (or another publication if they don’t accept it), I’ll be sure to let you all know. In the meantime, it’s well past midnight and I need my sleep. I’m working on a mermaid horror story for another anthology (yes, you read that right), so I want to be well-rested for that.

Until next time, my Followers of Fear, good night, pleasant nightmares, and my favorite Robert Johnson song is “I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom.” Check it out if you’ve never given it a listen.

Oh frabjous day! Calloo callay!

Okay, enough with quoting Lewis Carroll. As you are already aware, today is the release day of my short horror story, “Agoraphobia,” is released. The story follows a man with severe anxiety and agoraphobia is forced to leave his home due to a hurricane bearing down on his area.

And I’m so excited for all of you to read it! I’ve been hyping this story for weeks and I’ve heard from a number of you that are looking forward to reading it. So I’m glad the release day is finally here and you get to read it.

If you haven’t already preordered the story and would be interested in reading “Agoraphobia,” I’ll leave links below. The short story is only 99 cents (or the equivalent in UK and Canadian money), so it’s totally affordable. And if you do end up reading the story, please let me know what you think. I’ve already heard from a few early readers, but I would still love your opinions. Positive or negative, I love reader feedback, and it helps me out in the long run.

Not to mention, if you leave reviews and tell people your thoughts, it helps them decide whether or not the story is worth their time.

Also, if you’re wondering about physical copies, I only sell those as chapbooks at events. I’ll be posting an update on events soon, so in the meantime, hang tight and check out this post if you have no idea what a chapbook is.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. A publisher I’ve been keeping an eye on is going to open for submissions soon, so I have a novel to polish. Until next time, stay safe, happy reading and pleasant nightmares!

Agoraphobia: Goodreads, Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada

This morning, I checked my memories on Facebook, and what popped up in 2018? No, not an embarrassing photo from that year’s Purim celebration. I killed the person who took the photo and destroyed their phone’s SIM card before they could post it. No, it was the announcement that my novel Rose had been accepted by Castrum Press, a publishing company based out of Belfast, North Ireland.

And over the course of today, it just kept hitting me. Three years. Three whole years. It felt like so much longer (and not just because of the mess that was 2020). And given all that happened with the book over those three years, it only feels right to blog about it.

So if you’re unfamiliar, Rose is a novel I first wrote as my college thesis and which later became my first novel published with a publisher. The story is a Kafkaesque fantasy-horror tale about a young woman who wakes up with no memory of the past two years. She then finds herself transfigured into a plant/human hybrid by ancient magic, setting her on a path of no return.

As I said, a lot happened with Rose in the three years since Castrum Press accepted the novel. The novel itself went through a heavy editing and rewriting process that lasted about fifteen months, from March 2018 to June 2019 when the book was released. Characters were changed or written out, plot points were added and pulled out, and at one point two-thirds of the book needed to be thrown out and rewritten. Yeah, that happened. Word of advice, don’t add flashback scenes that have nothing to do with the main plot of the story, let alone make one-third of the book flashbacks and the other third somewhat dependent on the flashbacks.

But it was worth it. The book came out soon after my twenty-sixth birthday, and people started reading it. Soon, I had some great reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, and they kept growing. In August, I had a reading at Brothers Drake, a local bar and meadery, or distiller of honeywine. In December, the audio book released, narrated by the incomparable Sarah Parlier, who made chills go up my back with her narration. 2020 came in, and the book continued to do somewhat well. I wasn’t making Stephen King money, but I was doing okay for an author of my skill and reach.

Honestly, though, the fact that anyone’s reading Rose at all, especially with so much good horror out there, is incredible. Yeah, people enjoy it, but I had to do a lot of plugging over the course of these three years to get people interested, let alone willing to read it. That’s part of the author lot, truth be told: you gotta do a ton of work to let people know your book is available. No one’s going to do it for you, at least not without compensation.

Well, I’m not complaining. All the work has paid off. More and more people are reading Rose, and are leaving reviews. I just got a new four star review today from an author I know through Twitter, which made my day. It makes me happy. And I’m hoping, with continued work, some devoted fans, and a few conventions/author events, Rose will continue to do well.

If you would be interested in reading Rose, I’ll leave links below for you to check out. And if you end up reading it, I hope you’ll take the time to let me know what you think. Positive or negative, I love reader feedback, and it not only helps me, but your fellow readers in the long run.

That’s all for now. I’m off to enjoy the weekend. Until next time, my Followers of Fear, good night, Shabbat Shalom, have a great weekend, and pleasant nightmares!

Rose: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada, Audible

A small screenshot of the website article I took on my phone earlier today. It’s had nearly twice as many shares since then.

You’re probably looking at that title and thought, “Oh, he published an article and–wait, what?” Well, let me explain.

Ginger Nuts of Horror is a well-known and well-regarded horror website on the net. They do news articles, reviews, and the occasional essay or feature, among others. Not too long ago, I sent them a copy of Rose for them to hopefully review in the near future, and their editor encouraged me in the meantime to consider sending them an article for their website. I liked the idea, but I couldn’t think of anything to send them that would be worth their time…until recently, that is.

I recently saw Kurt Neumann’s 1958 film The Fly for the first time. I wasn’t expecting to be scared, but I was expecting to be entertained. And I was…until I reached what could be considered the second climax of the film, the spider web scene. And I. Was. TERRIFIED!!!

Which, honestly, I didn’t expect to happen. It’s a B-grade science-horror film with dated effects that, even when it was released, were more goofy than scary. And yet this one scene left me in terror. Which made me ask, why? Why did this scene scare me (and presumably others) so badly.

This led to me writing my article, “Why the Spider Web Scene in The Fly is Actually Terrifying.” As you can tell from the title, I break down why that scene is so terrifying element by element. It’s a bit longer than some of my blog posts, about fifteen hundred words, but I think you’ll find it worth the read. I’ll include the link below. At least, nearly a hundred people have shared the article across social media since the article went live this morning, if that’s any metric.

I would also like to thank Jim McLeod and the team at Ginger Nuts of Horror for publishing my article and even giving Rose a shout out after my bio at the bottom of the article.* It was great to work with you guys, and I hope I can send you guys something you would be proud to post again very soon. I’ll also make sure to post a link to the website and the associated Twitter account in case any of you want to check them out.

This scene may look hokey, but to many people, including myself, it’s quite terrifying.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I hope you’ll let me know what you think of the article once you’ve finished reading it. I’m also curious to know if any of you were as scared of the 1958 version of The Fly as I was. I’m not alone in that, right? Right?!

Until next time, pleasant nightmares and be careful when doing teleportation experiments. You never know what’ll happen if you don’t do the proper safety checks.

*This also counts as my first publication of 2021. I’m quite happy about that, especially after how sparse 2020 was.

GINGER NUTS OF HORROR ARTICLE LINK

GINGER NUTS OF HORROR HOMEPAGE

GINGER NUTS OF HORROR TWITTER PAGE

I think I’ve been hearing buzz about this novel since it was released last year. However, I only just got around to reading it recently (or more accurately, listening to it on audio book). I had somehow managed to stay spoiler-free despite the buzz, and knew nothing beyond the fact it was a Gothic novel set in 1950s Mexico. And knowing nothing, I was going in expecting something amazing.

Mexican Gothic follows Noemi Taboada, a young high-society woman living in Mexico City in 1950. That is, until a mysterious letter from her cousin Catalina arrives at the family home. Concerned, Noemi is sent out to check on her cousin, who has been living in the countryside since her marriage to a mysterious Englishman named Virgil Doyle at his family’s estate, High Place. When she arrives, she’s not surprised to find things are not what they appear. However, the biggest surprises are yet to come. And if Noemi’s not careful, she’ll find these surprises may keep her from leaving High Place. Forever.

I can see why this novel was nominated for a Bram Stoker award, it’s excellent!

For one thing, the language this book is written in is just beautiful, like a Victorian novel without being too stuffy or overly wordy and dramatic. From the opening chapters, I felt like I was listening to the sort of writing I aspire to write (maybe someday I will). And Moreno-Garcia uses this brilliant language to not only bring the novel to life in your mind, but to bring out this strong sense of atmosphere and dread. I could almost see High Place and feel the horror that Noemi felt.

Speaking of which, I loved Noemi. She’s a very spunky young woman who refuses to compromise or let anyone tell her what to do just because she’s a woman. I loved watching her go up against the stodgy, stuffy Doyles with their rigid ways and gloomy lives, as well as how she refused to submit.

In addition, Mexican Gothic‘s story has a unique twist on the concept of a haunted house. I won’t go into details, because it’s more fun for you to read it yourself. Let me just say, it’s different than anything I’ve read and you’ll probably find it pretty clever on a number of levels.

I can’t think of any real downsides to this story. If I did, it would be nitpicking on my part. I will warn some readers that there are some things in the novel that might be triggering to them. One of the characters turns out to be…skeevy, to put it mildly. Just warning you.

In any case, Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a wonderful addition to the Gothic horror genre. On a scale of 1 to 5, I’m giving it a 4.7. Wonderfully written, ingenious and spooky. Pick up a copy and find out for yourself why people are raving about this book. Preferably before they decide the Bram Stoker winners in May.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. Until next time, happy reading and pleasant nightmares!

My, time is going by fast. We’re already about a third into March. Didn’t we just get into February the other day?

Anyway, as many of you are aware, my short story “Agoraphobia” will be releasing in one week. The story follows a man with severe anxiety and agoraphobia who is forced to leave his home when a hurricane bears down on his area. Suffice to say, things don’t go exactly as planned.

And guess what? I’ve already received a couple of reviews on the story! Yeah, two of the eARC readers, Kim Napolitano and P.S. Winn, left four stars each, as well as their thoughts, over on Goodreads. I’ll leave a link below if you want to see for yourself, but I’m going to quote what they had to say right here. Cutting out spoilers, of course.

I love all of Rami Ungar’s stories. Throw in a creature feature? Sold!

As with all short novellas any details are spoilers so I’ll be brief. Peyton lives in a completely fortified home, afraid of the outside and of people in general. He’s locked himself away. A hurricane is moving in to knock out his or what he thinks is his actual reality…The story is as an allegory and you’ll see why.. well written and excellent action but again.. way to short. I would have liked to see our sole protagonist fleshed out a little more so I could picture his face but this is a small complaint in an otherwise fantastic story. Pick up everything you can by this amazing author. You’ll be happy you did! Enjoy!

Kimberly Napolitano, Goodreads

An intriguing short story of a man who has problems, sadly those problems are about to get worse. The author does a great job making this short story feel longer with complete content in a short space.

P.S. Winn, Goodreads

To say the least, I’m as happy as a happy, dancing devil that they enjoyed the story and thank them for taking the time to not only read the story, but to let people know what they think.

In any case, if you’re looking for something short and enjoyable to read, I’ll leave links below to where you can preorder a copy. Outside of events, it’s only available as an e-book,* but I’m hoping you’ll find it worth downloading onto your device of choice. I’ll leave links below so you can take a look and see if this is something you would be interested in. And if you do end up downloading and reading a copy, please let me know what you think somehow. I appreciate reader feedback, positive or negative.

And if you leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads, you’re not only letting me know, but letting other readers know what you thought and if the story is worth checking out. Believe me, you’ll be doing plenty of people a favor, not just me.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. If things this week go as I think it will, I’ll have plenty to post about in the next couple of days. In the meantime, I hope you’ll check out “Agoraphobia” and get as excited to read it as I am excited for you to read it. Until next time, pleasant nightmares!

Agoraphobia: Goodreads, Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada

*If you would like to check out what events I’ll be at, you can click here.

Are you all annoyed with me yet? Or is this sort of promotion just expected from me at this point?

So, if you were unaware before, my short story “Agoraphobia” is releasing this month. Specifically, it’ll be releasing two weeks from today on Tuesday, March 16th. The story follows a man with severe anxiety and agoraphobia who has to face the prospect of leaving his home for the first time in hears due to a hurricane bearing down on his area. As you can probably guess, things don’t go exactly as planned.

Anyway, the story will be available for ebook purchase from Amazon, and the physical version will be available as a chapbook at events where I will be a vendor. (Click here to see what events I’ll be attending in the near future. Click here to find out what the hell a chapbook is supposed to be). And if you’re at all interested in reading it or in supporting me, you can preorder a copy now. The story is only 99 cents (or British and Canadian equivalents) and it would make me very happy if you decided to get a copy.

And if you do download the story (or buy it at a future event), I would be very happy if you left a review somewhere. Positive or negative, I love reader feedback, and your input not only helps me out in the long run, but helps other readers decide whether or not the story is worth their time. Between people actually reading the story and word of mouth, it’s one of the most important ways you can help an author out. At least one whose name isn’t Stephen King or Anne Rice or something.

Anyway, that’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’ll be leaving the links for “Agoraphobia” down below, as well as my other works. Hey, you never know. One of those stories may appeal to you as well. Perhaps my fantasy-horror story Rose; or my serial killer thriller-horror Snake; The Quiet Game, my debut collection of short stories; or maybe my Arthurian fantasy/sci-fi mashup “Mother of the King.” Either way, I leave it in your hands.

Until next time, my Followers of Fear, stay safe, happy reading and pleasant nightmares!

Agoraphobia:Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada

Mother of the King: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada

Rose: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada, Audible

Snake: AmazonCreatespace, Barnes & Noble, iBooksSmashwords, and Kobo

The Quite Game: Amazon, Createspace, Barnes & Noble, iBooksSmashwords, and Kobo.

Okay, technically this film is a 2019 film, but it’s being released in the States in 2021, so that’s the designation I’m going with.

Also, just a little background for my non-Jewish readers: in Judaism, it’s traditional that when someone dies, the body is constantly watched over and had Psalms recited over in order to comfort the soul of the deceased. The person doing this is known as a shomer, or a guardian. Usually this is done by friends and family of the deceased, but occasionally people are paid to be shomrim. This is all explained in the movie, I just wanted to put it upfront here.

And to complain that nobody ever hired me to be a shomer while I was job hunting. Seriously, I have experience with dead bodies and I charge reasonable rates. I would have been great at it!

Okay, onto the review. The Vigil follows Yaakov Ronen, a Jewish man who has left his ultra-Orthodox community for a more moderate style of Jewish living after a terrible tragedy befalls him. His old rabbi asks him to be a shomer for a man who has recently died. Desperate for money, Yaakov agrees, but soon finds himself up against an ancient evil that oppressed the deceased in life, and is now looking for a new victim to torment.

Wow, this movie did not disappoint. It took what could have been just regular popcorn horror movie fodder and made something really amazing out of it. Camera work and lighting is used really effectively to build a tense, creepy mood. There are these long, uncomfortable moments where we’re forced to watch as Yaakov uses his phone or gets comfortable around the body, which is laying in the living room under a shroud like something out of the Victorian era. You really get to know the folds and creases in the blanket, and it makes things creepy and disconcerting.

The monster of the movie, a Jewish demon called a mazzik,* is also well done. I’ve said this before, but showing too much of the monster can backfire on films, especially in popcorn horror films. Thankfully, the filmmakers keep the mazzik hard to see throughout the film, and that only adds to the terror. Like no matter what, you can’t truly see, let alone comprehend, this creature.

Add in some mind games right out of the movie Oculus and a couple of nods to Nightmare on Elm Street, and you’ve got one hell of a scary film.

It’s also a deeply personal film. Yaakov, played with powerful pathos by Dave Davies, is a very sympathetic character. He’s dealing with PTSD, he’s struggling with himself, his faith, and making his way through this world. The events of the film really force him to confront what he’s been dealing with and it’s amazing to watch.

I could find something to dislike with this film, but I would be nitpicking. On a scale of 1 to 5, The Vigil stands at a solid 4.2. Creepy and dark, led by a lead you can identify with, you won’t be able to turn away. The film is currently available through Amazon, so grab a seat, pour some kosher wine, and get ready for an unnervingly good time.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’ll be back soon, believe me. Until next time, pleasant nightmares!

*And yes, I think we can be sure mazzik and the plural mazzikim is the source of the name for the comic book character and the character we love and adore in Lucifer.

Wow, I’m writing this post way later than expected. I blame the busy day I had. After work, I had to run errands, and then I had administrative work to do (answering emails, sending emails, setting things in motion, etc.), and I had to eat dinner…I’m sorry. I’m not sure why I’m bothering you guys with this stuff either.

Anyway, as you can tell from the title of this post, “Agoraphobia” is three weeks away from being released. This short story is about a man with severe agoraphobia and anxiety who is forced to leave his home due to a hurricane bearing down on his house. It’s a creepy, delicious little tale of dealing with your darkness under the most dire circumstances.

If that sounds like your kind of thing, then guess what? The story is available for preorder right now. I’ll leave the links below. I hope you’ll check the story out. And if you do, I hope you’ll let me know what you think somehow. Positive or negative, I love feedback from readers. And if you leave reviews on Amazon or Goodreads, it helps me out in the long run, as well as give readers a better idea of whether or not a story is worth their time.

(Hopefully you consider mine worth your time.)

Anyway, the story will release March 16th, so I’ll be posting reminders right up until release day. Hopefully you won’t be sick of me by then.

Also, if you’re wondering if there’s a physical version for the story, there will be. However, it, like “Mother of the King,” will only be available as chapbooks at events I attend as a vendor. Sorry, but that’s just the business strategy I’m trying out. (Click here to find out what events I’m going to attend this year. Click here to find out what the hell a chapbook is.)

Speaking of “Mother of the King,” I’ll leave links for that below as well. It just received its tenth review on Amazon (and five stars, no less!), so you should go and check it out. Or you can check out my short story collection, The Quiet Game; my serial killer horror-thriller novel Snake; or my fantasy-horror Rose. Any one of them will be worth your time. I’ll include links below.

Alright, that’s enough self-promotion. I’ve got a busy week ahead of me, so I’ll be mostly focused on that. However, you should see me again by the end of the week, if a certain film is released to streaming as promised. Until next time, good night, my Followers of Fear, stay safe and pleasant nightmares!

Agoraphobia:Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada

Mother of the King: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada

Rose: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada, Audible

Snake: AmazonCreatespace, Barnes & Noble, iBooksSmashwords, and Kobo

The Quite Game: Amazon, Createspace, Barnes & Noble, iBooksSmashwords, and Kobo.