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October 2023, Issue 20
Hope you are all doing well and preparing for Halloween! It's a great month to catch up on spooky books (a group promo below features many free scary books) and to watch horror films and tv shows. In the newsletter I've included a link to The Exorcist's Meter, one of my favorite horror drama tv shows of all time, about a taxi driver/exorcist. He doesn't fully become an exorcist because there are still bills to pay which reminds me of being a writer! Have a great Halloween!
Best,
The Artsy Raven Podcast Updates
Click for access to The Artsy Raven Youtube Channel
Click for access to The Artsy Raven on Spotify
Click for access to The Artsy Raven on Apple Podcast
On episode 42 of The Artsy Raven we talk to satirical novelist Jeff Cottrill. He shares on how to deal with trolls on social media, the difficulties of dealing with publishers and how he sells his writing internationally.
Episode 43 of The Artsy Raven features award winning writer Thomas Dodson discusses the short story format, what inspires him to write short stories and the difference between short fiction and novels.
Design - We Are the Same
Underneath our flesh and blood we are all the same! A spooky design perfect for October!
Click here to see all the designs for sale on Threadless, all proceeds go towards Dark Helix Press to make more books!
Artsy Fun - Halloween Shrunken Apple Heads
The other day I was looking for Halloween party recipes when I came across multiple references to making apple cider with shrunken apple heads. Creepy!
It's almost like carving a pumpkin but with apples instead. Below is a link for carving apples to put into cider, but I've seen these same heads in pies as well.
Photo and recipe for "Shrunken Heads in Cider" from the Martha Stewart Test Kitchen (click here)
Artsy Fun - The Exorcist's Meter
Night shift taxi driver Ma Kwai (Kenneth Ma) accidentally wakes up a stone spirit (Hubert Wu) who grants him the ability to see supernatural creatures. Over time, Ma Kwai finds himself becoming an exorcist by vanquishing evil demons and ghosts. However, there is one ghost he wants to see the most, a childhood friend who accidentally drowned because he dared his friend to jump into a pool.
I've watched The Exorcist's Meter three times now and I still find it entertaining, especially the theme song! It's not gory and focuses on how the supernatural interferes with people's lives. However, some of my friends find the setting too close to home and refuse to watch it.
In the second season, German Cantonese speaking actor Julian Benedikt Gaertner plays the Demon of Lies and he is one of the best characters.
Hope you will give this show a chance and enjoy!
Watch The Exorcist's Meter with English subtitles for free on the official TVB site (click here).
Free Book Giveaways and Promos
(click book title to access free ebook download link or book preview)
The Devil Take You by Mitchell Luthi (click to download a review copy). The Devil Take You is an anthology of medieval horror comprising 14 tales set in the world Rome left behind. Join us in the plague-infested streets of London and the howling expanse of the Carpathian Steppes. Explore the once-hallowed halls of fortified monasteries and bear witness to the sacrilegious Vikings who would plunder them. From the macabre corpse collectors of Al-Waset to vicious highwaymen and their blasphemous secrets, The Devil Take You offers a delicious glimpse into the hellish world of the Middle Ages. Within these pages, life is fleeting, but death is never slow.
Fix the World by J. Scott Coatsworth (click to download). Twelve Sci-Fi authors save the world in this near-future hopepunk anthology. We’re a world beset by crises. Climate change, income inequality, racism, pandemics, an almost unmanageable tangle of issues. Sometimes it’s hard to look ahead and see a hopeful future. Dive in and find out how we might mitigate climate change, make war obsolete, switch to alternative forms of energy, and restructure the very foundations of our society. The future’s not going to fix itself.
Hunted By The Vampire Prince: Dark Academy Romance (Vampire Royalty) by Nikki Grey (click for preview). A bounty hunter lost in a town of vampires. What could go wrong? My dark adventure starts at Bluderry, the Academy of the Arcane. A human can enter this place only as a snack. Luckily, the gypsies bought me some time to roam around and find what I need. But when I do find it, I will leave much of myself behind. My virginity. My mind. And most importantly, my heart. Dare I go back for it, or will the dark prince come for me?
Ultimate Fantasy: a LitRPG, Epic Fantasy, Harem Fantasy and Video Game Parody by Merick N. H. Ulrik (click for preview). Gil was a regular guy before he was transported to another world. In a world of magic and monsters, he must struggle to survive. Here he is, the chosen one. But the world is familiar to him. It reminds him of his favorite RPG video game but now he is living it. When monsters attack him, the pain and struggle are real. Does he have what it takes to be the Warrior of Light?
Echoes of Insanity by R.A. Goli (click to download). With the help of her editor, journalist Emily Thatcher commits herself to the Shady Glen Asylum to investigate rumours of the staff mistreating patients. Crude treatments, patients being beaten or being tied to beds, others ignored and left to wear soiled clothing, all pale in comparison to the unnatural things Emily witnesses during the nights at Shady Glen Hospital for the Insane.
Eyes On You by Donna Taylor (click to download). After ten years of working the Boardwalk Butcher case, Damien and Jackie Romano are done with it. They're no closer to catching the vampire serial killer now than the last agent was thirty years ago. But when the Butcher sends their seven-year-old daughter, Jenna, a little present, it's the straw that breaks the vampire's back. Damien will stop at nothing to stop the Butcher if it's the last thing he does.
Eclipsing the Aurora: A Science Fiction Adventure (Consensus Universe Book 1) by Peter J. Foote (click for preview). When Nigel gets chucked off a dam, he thinks his time is up. Vivian – an alien from an ancient race that uses Earth’s deep oceans as a retirement home – rescues him and convinces him to join the Consensus. Now all he has to do is give up his life on Earth. But he can’t abandon his birth planet when he learns that the Menace plans to attack. To stop the apocalypse, he must find his high school crush, rescue the daughter he never knew he had, and make the case to the Consensus that humanity is worth saving. It would be a lot easier if he didn’t have amnesia.
The Wine Cellar by Newton Webb (click to download). Peter Baker's journey takes a dark turn when he embarks on a new life in Cornwall. As he celebrates his freedom, he's haunted by his actions and their consequences. Peter's past looms over him in this tale of love, deception, and betrayal.
Library of Eternity by Jay Toney (click to download). Devon and Jadsia are smugglers who deal in exotics, mainly information. Their success has earned them the wrath of both their employers, and the people they obtained the information from. They are being hunted. Their only hope is to flee to a place where the people have never heard of them, and where they won't be found.
Group book promos
Anomalies - over a dozen science fiction, fantasy, mysteries and thrillers available for downloading! Promo ends October 31, 2023. Click here to download
Dark Reads for October - thrilling and spooky eBooks, over 2 dozen titles! Promo ends November 1, 2023! Click here to download
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