LURID: Spine-Tingling Victorian Ghost Stories

LURID: Spine-Tingling Victorian Ghost Stories

Header image via Wikipedia Commons

LURID: vivid in shocking detail; sensational, horrible in savagery or violence, or, a guide to the merits of the kind of Bad Books you never want your co-workers to know you're reading.


A sad tale's best for winter: I have one
Of sprites…” — A Winter’s Tale

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Merry Wishmas: Top 10 Book Gifts I Wish Existed

Merry Wishmas: Top 10 Book Gifts I Wish Existed

Last week I posted a list of the Top 10 gift items for bookworms this holiday season, and they’re all pretty good. However, in a perfect world, those might not be the very best gift items bookstores have to offer.

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Unprintable: The LitReactor Podcast Episode 4 - Should You Write For Free? (Guest: Craig Clevenger)

Unprintable: The LitReactor Podcast Episode 4 - Should You Write For Free? (Guest: Craig Clevenger)

Every month, Unprintable will take an irreverent look at books, the publishing industry, reading, writing, and more; featuring the know-it-all geekery of LitReactor columnist Cath Murphy, Education Director Rob W. Hart, and Managing Editor Joshua Chaplinsky.

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Five Cheap DIY Gifts For Book Lovers

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Five Cheap DIY Gifts For Book Lovers

Your list of people to buy for is big but your budget is small. What’s a generous soul to do? You could try to re-gift the Fifty Shades Of Grey you won as a door prize at the swingers’ club or the Grieving For Dummies you were given after your last goldfish died. You could stalk Amazon’s lightning deals 'til the wee hours. Or you could create handmade book-related DIY gifts for your loved ones. The crafty route seemed like a sensible way to save a few dolla bills, so we fired up the glue guns, old books, and spray paint and got to work.

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Storyville: Happy, Not Sappy

Storyville: Happy, Not Sappy

I know that a lot of people here at Lit Reactor tend to write dark stories. Whether those are horror, neo-noir, crime, fantasy, science fiction or literary stories, the desire to see how characters react to trauma, violence, and negative experiences is a normal one. It’s just more interesting to see how people deal with a bad day instead of a good one. But how do you write a positive, upbeat story without it being melodramatic? How can you focus on the light, instead of the dark?

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10 Questions with Thuglit's Todd Robinson

10 Questions with Thuglit's Todd Robinson

There are a number of polarizing figures in the crime fiction community: Jon and Ruth Jordan of Crimespree magazine, Steve Weddle of Needle: The Magazine of Noir, and, of course, the one and only Big Daddy Thug, Todd Robinson, founder and editor of Thuglit. During its first five year run, Thuglit produced three print anthologies and helped spark the careers of such writers as Stuart Nevillle, Hilary Davidson, Jordan Harper, and Frank Bill.

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10 Questions with Rhonda Hughes

10 Questions with Rhonda Hughes

It’s no secret that Portland, Oregon is having a cultural moment. Whether we’re talking home brew or Portlandia or the thriving literary community in this overgrown Pacific Northwest town, you can’t scan a Twitter feed without stumbling across a reference to the Rose City. Since 2002, one of the brightest spots in Portland’s literary horizon has been Hawthorne Books, helmed by the talent magnet, Rhonda Hughes.

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Indie Press Spotlight: ChiZine Publications

Indie Press Spotlight: ChiZine Publications

Do you like vampires that poop spangly fairy dust and are apparently resistant to sunlight? Do you like barrel chested werewolves who are emotionally conflicted about being killing machines? Do you like sociopaths who are debonair charmers with 180 IQ’s that leave a calling card whenever they murder someone? Do you like “horror” novels that read like recycled Stephen King or Dean Koontz?

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Say Cheese! 12 Terrible Photos of Bestselling Authors

Say Cheese! 12 Terrible Photos of Bestselling Authors

Whenever I get a new book, I give the thing a thorough once-over before I dive in. I check its teeth, kick its tires, and generally read every scrap of information that isn't the story proper. This includes author blurbs, the table of contents, and any introductions or forewards. Then I flip the book over to read the synopsis on the back cover. It makes me feel prepared, and gives me a frame of reference for the journey I'm about to embark on. I even check out the author photo, to give a current face to the name.

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Ask the Agent: Options For Novellas and More Advice on Query Etiquette

Ask the Agent: Options For Novellas and More Advice on Query Etiquette

Navigating the rough terrain of today’s publishing industry shouldn’t be a solo event. This week in Ask the Agent, I’ll explore and dissect two of the industry’s mysteries, straight from the shoulder.


Question from Courtney

What types of options are there for novellas within the traditional publishing industry? Would I be better off going with self-publishing or should I send out some feelers first -- and to whom? Agents within my genre, or are there novella-specific agents I should research?

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