monsters

Nonfiction

Smart Reads: Real Life Heroes, Villains and Monsters

Villains and monsters are so much more frightening in the world of non-fiction. While we can reassure ourselves that the horrors of fiction aren’t real and sleep with the lights on, the comfort in non-fiction lies in the books themselves. By shining a light on the darkest hearts we lessen…

JeriAnn GellerNovember 19, 2015

Fiction Thrillers Thrillers - Featured

A Family, and a City, Confront Their “Monsters”

“Memory, of course, is also a story. It feels like the truth, especially when there is no one to dispute your recollection of events. But it is a story nonetheless — some moments have been elided, and others have been emphasized and made either luminous or horrific or both ……

Neil NyrenJune 25, 2021

Book Club Network Thrillers

Michael Okon Scares Again in “Monsterland Reanimated”

Not quite. That’s because Michael Okon has a lot of cleaning up to do since the end of his weird and wacky Monsterland. The sequel, Monsterland Reanimated (Wordfire Press), is aptly named. Many creatures and villains you so lovingly met in book one have been restored to life and given…

Jim AlkonOctober 31, 2019

Book Club Network

Humanizing Monsters and Monsterizing Humans in “Monsterland”

Sure, Michael Okon’s Monsterland (WordFire Press) has its suspense, its horror, even a mini family saga and some coming of age playing out around the edges. And let’s not forget a plot to take over the world. But what about the basic premise: a playland where guests can interact with vampires, be chased…

Jim AlkonJune 1, 2020

Fiction

Strange World, Faithful Friends — and Monsters Await “Beneath the Ruins”

It’s getting dark. Residents of Arkdale soon will shelter for long weeks behind their town’s locked gates until the weak sun begins to shine again. Even in the light time of year, only the brave — or foolhardy — venture out to explore the nearby ruins of an unknown civilization,…

Joanna PoncavageJuly 19, 2021

Fiction

QUIZ! Which Goosebumps Monster Are You?

Whether it was the books or the too-real show, Goosebumps has been scaring the pants off of us since the '90s and we truly enjoyed every minute of it. Now, with Halloween right around the corner and the new movie coming out, it's time for a run down nightmare memory…

Katie HiresOctober 15, 2015

Author Spotlight Author Spotlight - Featured

Darren Lee Compton on Characterization and Concept Changes

Are you thinking about changing your career? Maybe consider looking into becoming a professional monster hunter. Well, maybe not: according to Fiya Pratt Diaz, you’re basically just a glorified exterminator. If exterminating the extreme isn’t on your radar, maybe you’d prefer to just read about those monsters instead. In that…

Judy MorenoJuly 12, 2021

Author Spotlight

A “Reanimated” Conversation with “Monsterland” Author Michael Okon

When you write a novel that centers around an amusement park where guests interact with vampires, are chased by werewolves and walk among zombies, don’t expect to get off so easily. Michael Okon had a lot of cleaning up to do since the end of his weird and wacky Monsterland.…

Jim AlkonJanuary 8, 2020

Fiction Listicles Listicles - Featured

Of Magic and Melodies: Lose Yourself in the Mystifying Music of These 7 Tales

The great Athenian philosopher Plato once said, “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.” Wow. Pour me a glass of that, will you? It’s powerful stuff, music. That a few simple notes can so precisely convey emotions many…

Chelsea CicconeOctober 19, 2021

Listicles Thrillers Thrillers - Featured

From the Perspectives of Killers Come 7 Killer Thrillers

Human technology is steadily making leaps and bounds into the future, but one thing left unachieved is the ability to read minds. This might not be the worst thing in the world. Just think of all the dark, twisted thoughts that pop up uninvited in your own mind and are…

Judy MorenoOctober 4, 2021