Last night, I was sound asleep in the middle of a dream when I heard a strangled scream from the next room. Needless to say, this jerked me out of sleep immediately, and I ran to see what was the matter. Newell was reading this and it startled him badly. (Warning: Seriously do not follow that link and read the comic if you have a weak heart or are easily frightened. If, on the other hand, you enjoy a good scare, be my guest.) He went back to the beginning and showed it to me, and I think I squeaked loudly myself at a point you will probably recognize when you reach it.
This got me thinking about what scares people. It is that time of year, after all — Halloween being just around the corner. (By the way, this is a perfect time to plug Zombified! again, with my Short Short “Interview with a Zombie”)
I’ve talked before about The Door at The Top of the Stairs. It’s the anticipation that makes the horror work in this instance. In the case of the comic I linked above, it is the unexpected that makes the reader react. Both are valid ways to create suspense and fear in your reader. What other ways have you explored? Feel free to comment — I’d love to hear from you.
and his wonderful Adult Tres Navarre books, starting with 
.
because I like to start at the beginning of a series, and by the time I was four or five chapters in, I had the rest of the series downloaded into my Kindle. These are a great introduction to Mythology in my opinion. Mr. Riordan flirts with us, teasing with bits of myth that sound hauntingly familiar, and yet show us a fresh perspective on old friends. And, honestly, despite a lifelong love of mythology and folklore, some of the creatures he mentioned made me make a mental note to look them up later because I was unfamiliar with them. The ability to arouse a desire to research in a reader is a rare gift. His premise of the Greek Gods moving shop to America as the seat of Western Civilization drifted across the Atlantic was intriguing and innovative. In short, I loved the series and bought all his remaining juveniles as a result. They are waiting in my Kindle, but I took a break to make sure I had read at least one of the adult mysteries before the meeting.
. This isn’t the first in the series…it is actually number 6 of 7…but one of the beauties of the writing is that you can read them out of order, and when you read the next it fills in gaps. Perhaps because it was the first I read, this one is my favorite. The weaving of flashback and present action; the doling out of information that only later takes on full significance; the character sketches that can bring a person to life in a paragraph or two — all of these skills are what makes Rick Riordan such a fabulous writer.
, and dreading the end of it because it is the last of the Tres Navarre series. Last time my mother met Mr. Riordan at a Mystery Writer’s event, she scolded him soundly because he had abandoned Tres. I hope it isn’t for long. For now, I’ll have to settle for more mythology. Luckily I have the Roman and Egyptian series to go.
. What do you have in mind?
. There will be other prizes offered as well.
. Still crossing my fingers people will like 
, but no reviews yet. Want to be the first? 😉
is an interesting cautionary tale about social networking. It is currently offered for free on the Kindle page, and I am a sucker for the free books, so I downloaded it.
Rie Sheridan Rose 
