I'm so excited for this collection to go live on April 7th, so everyone has the opportunity to enjoy it as much as I did! Francesca compiled a fantastic collection full of stories that cover so many different eras and things that go bump in the night, and it kept me on my toes from start to finish.
Her character development is brilliant from the very start, ranging from a New England colonial woman out to solve the mystery behind supernatural murders plaguing her small village, to a twist on already terrifying clowns, to an inside look at the monsters haunting our existence. Goody Sarah is a smart, inquisitive woman - two things that are highly frowned upon when it comes to women in those days (and sometimes even now, to be honest). While clowns tend to instill a sense of dread in most people by just existing, silent ones who can pack up and disappear overnight feel even more ominous. And who knew that monsters/demons/boogeymen held conventions?!
My Brother Andy was my favorite story in the collection. It's a brilliant possession tale, covering the bases from childhood fears consistently dismissed by adults (I'm sure we've all seen enough movies to know that never ends well), to the final stretch where we see the devastation caused by ignoring those warnings. Unlike a typical possession tale where we see a relatively short period where everything is turned on its head, and the situation is then resolved, this story stretches over years and emphasizes the potential horrors that could be committed with that much time.
With such a variety of stories in terms of content and length, it's a piece of cake to break the collection into pieces and read bit by bit, or just sit down for a healthy dose of mass consumption. Francesca was also kind enough to provide content warnings at the end of the book, should you want to check those first. The book is available for pre-order now!
Find Francesca here:
Twitter: @Writer_of_Weird
Instagram: writerofweird
Site: www.francescamaria.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/writeroftheweird/