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Published on Chapter Break Book Blog – 12/2025 WOW Book Tour
My Favorite Crime Reads
I have read that people watch horror movies to make their own lives feel more manageable. For instance, your boss may belittle you, but the guy on the screen is getting chased by an ax-wielding maniac, making him much worse off than you. Likewise, your co-worker may have just under minded your promotion, but doubtful they served you up as sacrifice to a Satanist cult. If horror draws this kind of viewer, I am willing to believe that True Crime is not far off the mark. True crime has long been a genre that interests me. While I have watched far more documentaries and movies than read books on the topic, there are three reads that left a lasting impression on my psyche.
The first True Crime book I read was Helter Skelter. My dad had a copy sitting on his nightstand and, ever the snoop, I started reading it. At that time, the extent of violence on page for me was Roger murdering Piggy in Lord of the Flies. So, when Vincent Bugliosi delved into the gruesome, unheard-of details of the Tate and LaBianca murders, my immature and impressionable mind was mortified and repulsed, yet immediately hooked. Of course, I knew murder existed, but the specified brutal slayings of those living on the prestigious border of Beverly Hills, especially a beautiful, pregnant movie star, showed that vigilance is always necessary regardless of money or celebrity.
Having a new taste for gory details, my second book in True Crime followed another California atrocity that journeyed into South America. In Tim Reiterman’s Raven, Jim Jones’s, the charismatic cult leader, descends into madness. Unfortunately, his followers did not foresee this. In fact, once he established himself in California, his flock mightily grew. With that growth came legal scrutiny of fraud, abuse, etc., leading Jones and his most loyal followers to hightail it to the Jonestown compound in Guyana. A few years later, a congressman and investigative reporters arrived on scene prompting Jones to have them killed and initiate mass suicide. When devotees saw other members enduring the “Kool-Aid” death, they tried to escape but were shot or stabbed. This horrific account of the nine hundred people killed that fall of ’77 became my sophomore book report. I still wonder what my teacher thought of the topic, despite the ‘A.’
My third choice is a combination of True Crime and Paranormal. Before I watched the Amityville Horror, I read Jay Anson’s paperback about Ronald DeFeo’s murder of his family in Long Island, New York and the aftermath when the Lutz Family purchased DeFeo’s home. The bulk of the book pertains to the Lutz family’s twenty-eight-day experience which somewhat validated DeFeo’s story of a haunting. The paranormal elements in this book kept me electrified. At bedtime, I was terrified to bear the dark. Even more eerie was when I woke up just past 3AM a couple of nights. DeFeo killed his family at 3:15AM, and George Lutz started waking up at 3:15AM during their time at the home. The power of persuasion!
While I still watch serial killer movies, my reading on the topic greatly slowed. It is more unsettling for me to read about True Crime than to watch a canned version of it. While a few more reads trickled in—Women Who Kill and even Gavin DeBecker’s The Gift of Fear (recommended by my Quanjinim)—my Top Three made a lasting impression that fully satisfied my literary interest in the subject.
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Published on Fiona Ingram’s Word Magic Blog – 12/2025 WOW Book Tour
What is Magick Realism?
Google makes defining magick realism on paper quite easy. You take the first part – magick – and realize that adding a ‘k’ to the word known for black silk hats containing plush white bunnies makes it into a reference toward occult or spiritual practice. The second word – realism – is accepting a situation as it is and being prepared to deal with it.
“Did you say occult?” you may ask in a recoil, with either your heartrate picking up or your mind shutting down further discussion. I do not blame you. The occult has long been associated with demons and black magick. But it also consists of fun pastimes like astrology or tarot readings when you feel that random urge to meet with a mystical woman to find out about the promotion you applied for. Come Monday, all is confirmed by your generous manager. These readings are even more fun when they involve your love life, as a friend of mine found out when she visited a reputable seer. Feeling unwanted after her recent breakup, she was pleased to discover that she would soon meet her future husband and was given his profession and initials. About three months later, her and I are enjoying the late-eighties downtown dance scene when she totally hits it off with a random guy. By the end of the night, she realized that while it was not quite the profession as she had envisioned it, his career matched, as did one initial. By the next week, she found their astrology signs paired well, too. While the details were intriguing it was the actual chemistry that led to their engagement the following year. Only then did she realize his surname before adoption matched the missing initial. The seer’s premonition, complete.
Magick realism is also rooted in contact with deceased loved ones. My favorite magickal moment happened on what would have been my revered grandmother’s hundredth birthday. Late-afternoon, I ‘told’ her how much I missed her and asked for a sign that she heard me. Not expecting the ‘response’ anytime soon, I donned a swimsuit and soaked in the hot tub with my husband. With no rain in the forecast, due to it being out of season and a drought, within thirty minutes of my request, a small shower trickled down upon us from a passing cloud, complete with that fresh natural scent. My grandmother loved rain as much as I, so it was easy for me to see the magick realism of the moment. Further, we watched the small cloud slowly dissipate as it drifted from our vicinity, giving no one else the experience.
For me, magick realism is seeing the world beyond the mundane. Sure, we can explain away most things with dry, grounded, and scientific reasoning. But why? When there is happenstance, so flukey, that you scratch your head with a scrutinizing suspicion, why lose out on a chance for a novel experience? Yes, keep one foot on the ground, as you do not want to end up being a regular in the evaluation ward, but to work on rekindling that fantastical perspective you had as a child can bring a richness to your life that makes it just a little bit brighter.
https://fionaingramauthor.blogspot.com/2025/12/what-is-magick-realism-by-author-sherri.html
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Published on the blog of Author, Caitrin C King (CC King) – 11/2025 WOW Book Tour
Navigating Book Promotion as an Introvert
I review it three times, but only after changing the picture twice. I take a breath, hold, then press Post. Upon confirmation, I exhale and end the ritual with self-assurance. So, the routine goes when I post on Instagram. Surely, few Instagrammers go through this anxiety. But, for me, it’s no wonder. I’m a high-functioning introvert. The interaction may be online, but I’m still showing up. It’s worse in public. I smile and carry a conversation but also take frequent bathroom breaks to catch my breath, adjust my expression of exhaustion, and ready for the next session of socializing. Even at my own parties, complete with jolly, warm friends, a drudging of chaos rumbles in my stomach prior to the boisterous festivities. To me, Instagram is no different than barging through a packed room. Each time, in both places, you subject yourself to a barrage of feedback. I prefer one on one, and most often on a hiking trail. Quiet. Peaceful. Few people.
You could imagine my surprise, after a year of rarely mingling and happily working with my partner-in-writing Siamese to pen the first book in the Murder, Tea, and Crystals Trilogy, when I realized an online presence was necessary for an author. Dang! I had already dodged that bullet once. Trying Facebook in 2005, I ceased all activity when strangers started Friend-ing me. Questions swirled in my head – Who is this person? Why is someone from Hawaii wanting to Friend me? Is it appropriate for my professional account to have my sister’s friends following me with their posts of raucous drinking? I decided social media was not for me.
Aside from my jitters of posting, it turns out social media is a good fit for introverts. According to LinkedIn, 60-70% of engineers – the ones who created Frankenstein’s monster of communication – are introverts. As my introvert best friend has said, people think because I’m quiet, I have no opinion. Social media has enabled the quiet ones to tell us exactly what they think. Maybe we liked some of them better quiet. (Oops, digression.) Plus, there is an easy fix to curb overwhelming activity. When society’s nitpicking becomes too much, simply turn off notifications and refrain from logging on … ever again.
Book signings are another story. Turns out book signings are important too, and since they are usually time-limited, a quick break to look into the depths of reflective glass is not efficient. Luckily, the participants are mostly encouraging and not combative show-stealers out to topple your moment. Still, to ease the angst of your public performance, I find a quick reading from the book, usually the opening chapter, passes the time. Thereafter, you can take questions about your story and provide proficient answers. More time passes as your audience shares accolades of their love of your book. Finally, ask a preference question. Since tea-drinking is prevalent in Murder, Tea, and Crystals, I ask my audience if they like tea. With many in favor, I invite all interested to share their delightful herbal blends. The guests like it, too, as we are inundated with descriptions of scents and flavors. The oohs-and-aahs hum in appreciation representing pleasant feelings. All, thanks to book event!
The point is to get your audience talking. This not only relieves you of enduring the full spotlight, but now your audience feels heard and has a good time sharing a little something they enjoy. A true win-win!
https://www.caitrincking.com/post/navigating-book-promotion-as-an-introvert-guest-post
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Published on the Cozy Home Delight blog – 12/2025 WOW Book Tour
A Word from the Author … About Barbies!
I remember the first Barbie I ever found in a daycare toy box. If you’ve seen Kate McKinnon in the Barbie Movie, you’ll have the perfect image of the doll’s hair. She donned a pink-and-white checkered dress that had a brown stain on the chest area. No shoes. But I loved her! Quick Curl Barbie had vibrant blue eye shadow—the trend of the 70s—and a rather dim-witted expression compared to other eras. After I found this buxom plastic goddess, I had no more love for baby dolls. For me it became all about snazzy wardrobe, an hourglass figure, and poise that could make a debutante nervous.
That is why when I found out an acquaintance had a Barbie collection in 2006, it reignited my passion for the toy from my youth. My first step into collecting was the 2006 Christmas Barbie. Her black dress had been designed by Bob Mackie and she had a long, blonde braid as thick as licorice rope. Since that time, I have bought about four new Barbies a year. Obsession Chocolate or Lounge Kitties Leopard came next.
My recent summer inventory counted one hundred Barbies, all in boxed and impeccable condition. Many times, I am asked which is my favorite. An impossible choice. But I do offer my three favorites with number one being a doll from the Haunted Beauties line. Ghost is a gorgeous rendition of the spirits that haunt those willing to receive them. She has long white hair, ice-blue eyes, and a flowing white dress, complete with a draping chain. When I purchased her, I had a white Betta and placed her box next to the fishtank. Her dress and the betta’s elegant white fins filled me with a pleasant inner peace. I kid you not!
When choosing my second Barbie, I go retro. Halloween Haunt has a satiny orange dress with black velvet stars and cats on its skirt. Her red hair is a silky flipped bob, her eyebrows sharp, and her lips pursed tight in dark burgundy. With this purchase, it was not so much the fact that I liked Halloween nor that I collected witches. This was all about setting a goal for a Barbie no longer available by Mattel, had risen in value, and could only be bought if you spent hundreds of dollars. So, with favored Barbie #2, not only did her style appeal to me, but she proved a challenge.
Now, we get to that final line. Ninety-eight Barbies left in my collector closet, and I must narrow it down to one. That means the dolls I adore such as my more recent Crystal Collection, Empress of Emeralds or La Llorona may dazzle me, but none make the coveted Top 3. I have Barbie couples, such as Merlin and Morgan LeFay and Aragorn and Arwen, but they do not quite reach that height either. I would say the final doll boils down to the representation of her character. Bella Donna just released in October. It is the second Stevie Nicks Barbie from Mattel. For me, this Barbie not only represents my favorite recording artist, but it embodies my youth. In fact, the many years Stevie has inundated the airways since that time is similar to my appreciation for the doll of many faces. It’s been the same fifty years since I first picked up a Barbie that Stevie first sang her hit Sara. An appropriate fit for the final selection!
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