Review: David Dean's The Thirteenth Child

When I was given the opportunity to review David Dean's The Thirteenth Child, I was a little giddy to get my hands on the book.  The cover alone was enough to draw me in, it is fantastic!

When I pre-read some reviews, as I anxiously awaited my copy, I was surprised to see praise form Lisa Morton, one of my heroes in the world of horror.  Needless to say, her acceptance of the novel made me want to read it more.  So, when it finally arrived at my doorstep, I ensured that I had some time set aside to dig in.


Although I was not able to read it on one weekend as I had planned, I was anxious for my time to free up and allow me to continue on through the magnificent storytelling inside.  Not only was the storyline believable, but the characters came to life upon the pages, and the creature called Gabriel was more realistic than many of the beasts I have read about in the past.  David Dean pulled off a wonderful feat when he created the words upon each page.  I can only hope I match a fraction of his talent when I finish my first book soon!

"Police Chief Nick Catesby is haunted by the unsolved disappearance of a young boy from his small, peaceful New Jersey town seven years before. The nightmare begins anew when a little girl goes missing, followed quickly by two teenaged boys. Nick has only one suspect, disgraced professor and town drunk Preston Howard, whose arrogance has left him with nothing more than his pride, a sea of whiskey, and his only daughter, with whom Nick is falling in love. Preston insists that he is not a suspect but a witness to a strange and terrifying boy who only appears between dusk and dawn. Nick regards the story as the rantings of an alcoholic, but sightings of the boy lead to a trail of missing and murdered children going back three centuries, Nick and Preston are plunged into a race to save the children of Wessex Township—and the woman they both love."

 If you have not already picked up your copy, I strongly urge you to do so today!  If you have someone in your family that loves a good horror novel, or even a crime novel, this one is for you.

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Infendo Radio Episode 282: Family Friendly Rivalries

Welcome one and all to episode 282 of Infendo Radio!
We start the show by discussing our stolen ‘best Nintendo podcast’ slogan. My own Co-Op adventures with Rayman Legends and a quick Wonderful 101 update. Scott Pratt, Harrison Milfeld and myself (Lewis Pugh) then talk the Nintendo News with updates and new Wii U games hitting Kickstarter. Finally finishing on a feature around Nintendo and Kickstarter.

As always please send your listener questions to contact@infendo.com (my mail bag is empty!) and we will discuss them on a future show.
Feel free to add us on Miiverse:
Lewis Pugh: Leuvsion
Scott Pratt: EsselPratt
Harrison Milfeld: HybridMETA
Let us know what you think of the show in the comments below!

Celebrate Life, Despite Grieving the Loss

Too many times we take for granted the people and places around us, without giving a second thought to the impact that they have made.  We all have at least one of those people in our lives, but usually fail to show our appreciation towards their compassion until it is too late.  Whether it be due to not knowing how to show our gratitude, maybe the person would rather not be glorified for something they deem to be a part of their duty, or our busy lives just prevent us from devoting the time to show our thanks, deep down we know that there is more we can do to celebrate those that impact our lives.

Today, my wife and I heard news of the passing of one of those individuals.  He has helped us through difficult times via various means, and never once allowed us to return the favor.  He was, and still is, a very respectable man within our community, and has built a legacy that I hope can maintain its existence despite his passing.

He leaves behind an amazing family, which not only includes his wife and kids, but also his employees, the patrons that found comfort within his club, and the many bands that serenaded the venue throughout the years.

I know that most of you reading this will not know this man, although his impact on many has been far reached.  For those that do know the fantastic man that has made an impact, I urge you to not only grieve his loss, but more importantly celebrate his life.

 

Editors, The Unsung Heroes!

You work through the depths of your imagination and discover the perfect tale hidden deep between your thoughts of love lost, and the time you forgot to wear pants to school.  Over the next few days, weeks, even months, you write until your hand stiffens with cramps.  After a few edits of your own, you check it over one more time before sending it off to the publisher for approval.

Then it hits you...the publisher accepts the story, and the editor gets to work on ripping your masterpiece to shreds.  You receive the suggested revisions back and gasp.  How could he or she be so evil and rude to dismantle all of your hard work?

Okay, let's face it.  Many writers go through the emotions above when accepted into an anthology, magazine, or as a new novelist.  However, despite being hit in the head with reality, your story needed some work.  As a writer, it is very easy to overlook our mistakes and the fluff that adds words to the page. 

We have to remember that the editor is there to help us.  He or she might come off as rude or blunt, and that is okay.  In fact, I would rather be told of my errors flat out, rather than receive a sugar coated revision that does my story no justice.  An editor's job is basically to give us writers some bad news.  They don't have the glory (usually) of presenting us with the golden contract and promise of publication.  They give us the harsh reality of what we need to accomplish to achieve publication.

Sure, there are some editors out there that give the others a bad name.  They might charge a writer to edit the work that they want to publish, essentially taking away from any promised royalties (assuming  there are royalties).  Some will charge to edit work with promises of publication after being paid, but have no real contacts with publishers.  Those are the editors that deserve the chastising that we so often give the legitimate editors that want to help us out.

Recently, I have had the opportunity to work with two very amazing editors.  I should be working with a third very soon.  My experience with them has been nothing but positive, resulting in submissions that were much more solid than I could ever have imagined.  So, I want to take this opportunity to thank both of those editors (you know who you are), and praise their work that so often gets tossed avoided like cooties. 

Remember, an editor is there to help you out, not hold you back!