Minions of Misery

I have the honour of being selected as a Minion of Misery by April Denton. As such I have to oblige the darkness by writing about: a dark book, a dark film, and a dark secret. This is going to be fun for me!

Dark Book

This is one of the most disturbing collection of short stories and prose that I have ever read. This book is dark but dark in the way that gets into your mind and sticks with you. It was a brutal read but one that I think should be read. It does not disappoint in its horrific tales but the messages will leave you psychologically numb for a while after. It’s currently up for sale at Smashwords and on Amazon. Buy yourself a copy and see what I mean. If I were you I would actually avoid this book.

Dark Movie

This is one of my favourite movies. It’s a dark, psychological thriller about one of my favourite topics: Zombies.  Scary. Suspenseful. Thought provoking. An indie film that definitely delivers more of a punch than most of what Hollywood passes off to us as groundbreaking cinema.

Dark Secret

Hmmm, a dark secret… This is such a hard thing to admit because once it’s out there, you can’t take it back!

I am an intensely shy person when it comes to a lot of things. I’m play at having self-confidence but in all honesty, it’s an act! And apparently one that I deserve an Oscar for…

My family and close friends have no idea that I write a fictional blog. I have no shared my aspirations of being an author with anyone besides those people who I connect with on Twitter and through my Facebook Fan Page. I treasure these connections because it gives me the permission to be the person that I know that I am. It’s hard to live a double life sometimes. No one understands that desire to write and create a world outside of your own, except for other writers.

And now that it’s out there, I may decide that it’s time to reintroduce myself to those people who are a part of my life. I don’t really know why I’ve been so afraid to share  but I think it has to do with rejection. I get awesome comments about my writing from the people who I’ve met and my FB Fan Page gets comments when I post a day in my (fictional) Zombpocalypse. Some might think I’m crazy but I’m just me…

A private person with a deep fear of rejection. There it’s out there. And I can never take it back.

So now I need to nominate some people… Whom to choose, whom to choose??

I’ve got it! I hereby nominate James Friesen, Johanna K.P., and John C (@Slowdeath77) of Horror Smorgasbord.

Review: Ancient Awakening

Hell Comes to New Jersey…

Brief Synopsis:

The curtains open into the world of the Fallen, seven ancient demons that have awakened and this time around they’ve chosen New Jersey (of all places) as their home away from hell. Entering stage right are Mike and Ann who are joined from the background by Joseph Miller. Miller, the (self)proclaimed Ancient One turns out to be the only person with the skill and the knowledge to combat the Fallen and their offspring; the Cursed. Miller, Mike and Ann become trapped in a NJ hospital which is rapidly filling with the Cursed as quickly as the Fallen can infect the patients. It’s up to the three of them to unravel what’s really going on and hopefully escape with their lives intact (not to mention their humanity).

Review:

Ancient Awakening is filled with all of the demons, werewolves, vampires and all of the other mythical monsters that you could possibly fit into one book. (Okay, maybe there wasn’t an appearance by the Kraken…) One of the most intriguing aspects of the book is that Laube doesn’t rely on the accepted lore of monster mythos. Ultimately his vampires and werewolves have less sex appeal and more fright factor (as any good monster should!). I do want to note that vampires are meant to use seduction as a tool to lure their victims in but they are more scary in my honest opinion if they turn on you after you’ve been seduced.

The story is well written, fast paced and worth the read in my humble opinion. The concept is something completely new (to me) which made it compelling and unique. The characters are written with depth and have an instant likeability factor; you want to find out what happens to them which draws you further into the book. The dialogue fits the individual characters as well. As you’re reading you begin to develop a sense and a picture in your mind’s eye of each character and from start to finish, everything is flawlessly pieced together. No one is a handsome, strapping leading man, and the heroine isn’t the beauty queen;  they’re just ordinary people with the same issues as everyone else and that adds to their believability. Characters written with faults and a level of humanity have a tendency to worm their way into your heart and wrap you up in their struggles.

The humour, both subtle and distinct, treads that fine line of the sublime. Not many authors can scare you with one sentence and then make you laugh out loud in the next. Miller is the kind of character that you want to know. He’s the funny enigma that you meet at the bus stop or in the line at the grocery store. The clueless sort of funny that in the end proves that while he might look oblivious to what’s going on around him, the truth of the matter is that he’s more aware than you are.

The only criticism (if you can call it such) that I have is that the book felt too short. The conclusion was mind-blowing and leaves you open to what I hope is the premise for the second book in the series: Ancient Enemies. (Will I read it? Heck yes!) I do feel however that the length of the book worked for the story. The point of any series is to keep you coming back and with an ending like the one in Ancient Awakenings, I will definitely pick up the rest of the series if only to find out how it all ends.

Overall Rating:

4.5 stars out of 5

A great read overall and one that I think you won’t regret picking up 🙂

The Inaugural Post

Many might wonder what The Flip Side of Julianne is all about. Well it’s a place for me to share everything that I can’t share on my other blog Days with the Undead. If you’re interested, you can find that at http://dayswiththeundead.wordpress.com and if you do check it out, I recommend that you start reading back at Day 3.

What can you expect to see? Reviews, ponderings, rants and all other sorts of stuff that I find immensely interesting. I do intend to try to keep you entertained so bear with me if I miss the mark once in a while; I can’t be funny all of the time, the strain is unbearable!

My hope is that people check back often and see what I’ve been up to. There might even be pictures!

Catch you on the flip side,

~Julianne