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-   -   At Last, A Great Horror Book!! (https://www.horror.com/forum/showthread.php?t=64187)

Clive 01-22-2014 01:19 PM

At Last, A Great Horror Book!!
 
Hi,

I have been trying for a looong time now to find a horror book that I can read to a teen but also enjoy myself.

Everyone out there has probably noticed that horror authors seem to have hit a trend of over-using bad language and overdoing the gore simply to try and make their book seem shocking. The problem is, we want to read books that are shocking because of the way the themes and scenes are written and presented, not because of overdone content.

Well, I have found the nectar!

I've just read Scary Moments by Sasha Coen. For the first time in ages I managed to read a book that was good because of the story and its themes and not spoiled because of overdone scenes. It was funny, scary (not so much for me I'm thankful to say, lol) gripping and well written.There were thrilling parts, unnerving parts and supernatural parts. But, most importantly, there was no bad language parts! (I think the word hell might have been used but I can cope with that lol) and no unnecessarily violent scenes or themes. It was just a good all round read! You have no idea how refreshing it was! lol. I don't mind bad language been used, nor do I mind blood-filled scenes, what I do mind though is authors adding it unnecessarily or from unrelated scenes just because they have no other way of giving a shock value to their work. Surely this is where talent is supposed to play a roll?

If Coen can do it, then why are all of the other horror authors out there having so much trouble!

I read it to my niece on kindle which is not my preferred method but were unable to wait for the paperback delivery time (I was on babysitting duty lol). My niece has since brought her own copy of the paperback version. This is great because it means that she too enjoyed the book, but more than that, it means that she is reading a book that she likes and its not filled with swearwords and people cutting off their arms for no reason. Its hard to know whether she really likes what I read to her because she would just say it was good just to be polite I think lol, but her buying her own copy is a good enough sign for me.

The previous book I tried to read to her was about mildly malicious faeries, which was fine (lacking and not even slightly scary, but readable). That was until chapter two when it started describing a partial rape scene! That particular book was rated Horror, 12-14 years. The horror content was low enough to be read by someone much younger. Using dodgy and completely unrelated and unnecessary scenes is not how authors are supposed to capture our attention.

Like most, I love a great horror with all they have to offer (thrilling, gripping, scary, blood and bad language, supernatural and so on), but I disagree with authors using over the top gore or unnecessary swearing just to try and make things seem more dramatic. Surely that is what writing talent is about!?

Like I say, If Sasha Coen can do it for five quid odd, then the more expensive authors out there really do have no excuse.

What say you people!?

Clive.

neverending 01-22-2014 02:00 PM

Hi Sasha. To be honest, I think your publicity effort here is off the mark. Young Adult horror is currently experiencing something of a rennaissance. The recently announced preliminary ballot for the Stoker Awards lists no less than eight Young Adult novels for consideration.

Here's a link to the Horror Writers Association Blog, which haxs two interesting interviews with writers of Young Adult horror. I recommend checking it out, and also doing a bit of networking in general, to keep on top of current trends in horror.

http://horror.org/

Good luck on your publicity efforts on your self-published novel. For greater return though, I recommend including a link to your Amazon page.

I also think your Kindle edition is overpriced. $2.99 is about the top an unknown writer can expect to charge,

You also might want to fill out your Amazon author page. It really does help spark interest.

MichaelMyers 01-22-2014 02:50 PM

Loved you in Borat!

Clive 01-22-2014 03:43 PM

good books
 
Hi neverending,
sorry to disappoint, but I really am clive, not sasha lol.

I get what is current, but there are so many books at the moment that are using overcooked massacre elements to cover the lack of good story.

If its in context, then anything goes as far as I am concerned, but adding it in the place of ability, thats not so good.

I highlighted and promoted the sasha coen scary moments book because it does exactly what it says on the tin. I read a lot and it truly does make a change to read a story that leads you through it without all of the above - its a bit short though.

thanks for reading the post and the link (yeah, I like the coen book, but not enough to mess around adding links for it lol - you want it go and look for it yourself lmao).

clive.

Clive 01-22-2014 03:52 PM

prices
 
p.s. ( neverending ) yeah, i thought the price was high too. though I have had a few 1.50 - 2.00 ebooks from there lately and they have been really bad - as you say, kindle authors can self publish so you never really know what you have got until its too late. I think (hope) the paperback part of amazon are more strict means the prices are higher, but really don't know. I would only pay for the paperback version if I know the author nowadays I think.

c

neverending 01-22-2014 03:53 PM

It's always the same.

One day new authors will learn they'll get more traction by being themselves.


I tried my best.

Again, good luck. You'll need it.

:shocked:

neverending 01-22-2014 10:28 PM

BTW- They deleted the page you created for yourself on wikipedia. Wikipedia really hates being used for self-promotion. We don't mind it here, as long as you're honest.

Clive 01-23-2014 12:50 PM

coen
 
Hi to all,

I registered on here with a normal question and concerns but ended up with unrelated responses. After re-reading my original post, I decided that giving too much detail might have been what caused it. I registered on a similar site but greatly edited the detail I posted here. However, because many users are registered on both sites it seems that the wrong conclusion still stood (having seen similar but more lengthy text on another board probably didn't help).

Therefore, I have just posted on there and are intentionally adding the exact same text to here:


Firstly, I am not coen (plus I assumed coen was a woman!?).

If I were and it was my book, this is how I would go about it:

1 post on a promo section, not a discussion section.
2 have a web presence.
3 charge less for the book. paper and electronic.
4 have an amazon page
5 make the book 40,000 words longer.
6 advertise using bookmarks or something
7...


That said, I do believe that the scary moments book is a nice example of straight writing that you do not need to mentally edit every three seconds when reading it to an early teen (I agree about the paragraphs though. Some were way too long).

I posted something similar on another site (though more thorough) and used the sasha coen example there too because as here, it explains what type of book I am talking about. There is no point ranting about overused scenes unless you can give some sort of benchmark or example. Well, I chose coen as a good book but you are free to choose whomever you prefer.

As mentioned on another forum, one of the more recent books I read to my niece was described as young teen horror. It was not a horror in the traditional sense and started describing a girl being raped by chapter two. I was having a hard time mentally editing some of the text as it was. Once I reached that scene, I changed books. It might not have been so bad if the scene was even remotely related to the rest of the book (I checked!) It was just used to try add something dramatic to the book. As with the other site, I wont mention the book title because I don't think it is appropriate to do so.

May be it is just me and I have been unlucky with the last years worth of books (15% good, 35% readable and 50% not very good at all). That was the reason for the post after all, but everyone seems to have other interests in mind.

Thank you for your relevant input.

Clive.


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