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Book Review: Nameless: The Darkness Comes by Mercedes M. Yardley

Here’s an interview with Mercedes Yardley we did for Women in Horror Month in 2014

 

Nameless: The Darkness Comes by Mercedes M. Yardley

Crystal Lake Publishing, 2015

ISBN: 9780994662682

Available as: Kindle ebook, paperback

 

Nameless: The Darkness Comes is Mercedes M. Yardley’s debut novel, and the first book in the Bone Angel trilogy. It follows Luna Masterson, who has the ability to see and communicate with demons, something she has been able to do since she was very young. Luna lives with her older brother, Seth, and his young daughter, Lydia: after Seth’s ex-wife,  a demon named Sparkles, abandoned them, Luna moved in to help take care of them both. At her day job as a phlebotomist, she meets the awkward but handsome Reed Taylor, who reveals to her that he has the ability to see angels. When Lydia is kidnapped by Sparkles, Luna sets off to hunt her down. Luna also meets the mysterious demon, Mouth, who is alternately caring and sardonic toward Luna. Along the way, she finds not all is as it seems among the demonic and the living.

Yardley had me hooked from the first page. She presents a very strong female character in Luna; one with drive and the desire to push herself. Even when asking for help, or dealing with her greatest fears, she doesn’t fall victim to the “damsel-in-distress”  trope. Despite asking for help, she doesn’t fall victim to the damsel-in-distress trope. She is fiercely independent, and very much wants to handle situations on her own, but through her growth as a person, she eventually realizes she can’t do it all, especially when she’s dealing with the denizens of Hell.

Yardley’s demons are pretty incredible. Mouth, so named by Luna for his tendency to constantly deliver unwanted advice, is multifaceted: despite his nature, he appears to actually care about Luna’s welfare, and while he can still be terrifying, he is also protective of her. The Tip Toe Shadow, who we meet in the first two pages, feeds on negative emotions, and can induce fear. There is also a dog headed demon Luna meets on the street that is much stronger than other demons she meets as he tries to possess her.

If you’re looking for a great read, especially for Women in Horror Month, you can’t go wrong with Nameless.

Recommended

Contains: some blood and gore (not extensive)

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Women in Horror Month: Mary E. Wilkins Freeman and The Wind in the Rose-Bush

 

Mary Wilkins Freeman

Mary E. Wilkins Freeman

Mary E. Wilkins Freeman was born on October 31st, 1852 (a great birthdate for a writer of ghost stories) and died March 13, 1930. . She lived during a time when supernatural writing by women flourished, and she was one of the best. She’s been mentioned in the company of Edith Wharton and Henry James, and won the American Academy William Dead Howells Gold Medal. Described primarily as a writer of naturalism, and particularly of regionalism (as were many women writers of the time, including Sarah Orne Jewett) she excelled at creating supernatural tales that took place in the most ordinary of places and situations, in families and small communities where women’s work is never done. Her stories, mostly told through dialogue or by first person narrators, are unsettling because of what isn’t being said. In her story “The Shadow on the Wall”, which takes place in the aftermath of a death in the family, three sisters are desperately trying to block out the creepiness in the room they are working in, and one sister says to another “Don’t speak! I won’t have it!” That’s about as overt as Wilkins-Freeman’s undercurrents of fear and dread ever get. Willful ignorance, dependent behavior, pride, and guilt, especially on the part of women, all appear in Wilkins-Freeman’s stories, and it’s so often what she doesn’t say that really creeps in to stay with you.  In “The Wind in the Rose-Bush”, Rebecca Flint, who has traveled to collect her recently orphaned niece, cannot get a straight answer from anyone about where her niece actually is; in “Luella Miller”, an unreliable  narrator tells us a terrifying story of a woman who literally drains the life out of anyone who helps her.

Wilkins Freeman only wrote about a dozen supernatural stories, and collected six of them into a single volume, The Wind in the Rose-Bush, but it is more than worth your while to seek out her New England ghost stories of haunted women. There’s absolutely no reason not to, since you can read them for free.

For audiobooks of many of her supernatural stories, click here

To download a free ebook of  The Wind in the Rose-Bush, her collection of supernatural stories. click here

If you want all of her work collected together, Amazon sells The Collected Supernatural and Weird Fiction of Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, which includes her novelettes.

For much more detail on her life, click here or seek out Brian Stableford’s entry on her in the St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost, and Gothic Writers at the reference desk of your local library.

 

 

Women in Horror Month: David Simms Interviews Lauren Oliver

 

And now, for Women in Horror Month,  reviewer David Simms interviews Lauren Oliver.       Lauren  is the author of many YA novels, including the Delirium trilogy, Before I Fall,  and Panic (soon to be a movie). She has also written for adults (Rooms) and children( The Spindlers and Liesl & Po). Her newest book, the YA thriller Vanishing Girls, will be released in March of 2015.

Lauren enjoys reading, cooking, traveling, dancing, running, and making up weird songs. She divides her time between Brooklyn, upstate New York, and various hotel rooms.

 

Dave: In Vanishing Girls,  mental health is a major issue.  Thank you for delving into this. As a special education teacher/therapist for teens, I don’t see enough writers tackling it. Do you think it’s something teens (both sexes) need to be aware of?

Lauren: Well, yes, sure–I think everyone of almost every age should be educated about various kinds of mental illnesses and, more generally speaking, about the diversity of human experience. It’s funny, I never set out to write about mental health issues or about “difficult” topics; I simply write what I know. And I know people with mental health issues, and addiction disorders, etc. It’s part of the human condition.

 

Dave: Following this, most writers I’ve met, from the biggest in the world down to the scribblers and wishers, have demons they have battled. You really hit on some tough points for teens. Do you feel that embracing your past helps you as a writer and subsequently helps your readers?

Lauren: Yes, absolutely–writers are always on some level writing about their own experiences, things they’ve known, perceived, thought about, dreamed of. The same is true of me. I don’t consciously choose to broach difficult topics or to show teens struggling with difficult scenarios; that’s a reflection of my memories and also my understanding of the emotional content of adolescence, how tough and alienating it can be.

 

Dave: At a major conference recently, I listened to a panel of “adult” writers who are jumping into the YA fray. They were saying that they can knock out a YA novel in full within 6 weeks.  As a published YA author myself, I was frustrated to see YA treated dismissively. Your take?

Lauren: Well, I mean, I don’t know the context of that comment; YA books can be shorter than adult books, which obviously influences how long they take to write. But I would venture to wonder whether the books that authors brag about spending less time and attention on become successful efforts, whether they attract critical praise or the devotion and care of readers? I mean, anyone can write a kind of so-so book, for any audience, in any amount of time. Good books require attention and editing and long term care, for the most part. Then again, some writers are simply fast.

 

Dave: The sisters in Vanishing Girls display the fragility of sibling relationships and rivalry as well as family dynamics. Do you receive a lot of communication from readers who are seeking guidance?
Lauren: I’ve always received a lot of messages from people who empathize with my books and their main characters, yes. Some of them are seeking guidance and direction but most of them just want to reach out–they find the guidance, I think, in the books themselves.

 

Dave: The amusement park setting of Vanishing Girls is just great. Is this something straight out of your past?

Lauren: Ha, no. I wish! I was a lifeguard in high school. But I like amusement parks as much as the next girl.

 

Dave: What are your plans for your next book? Any issues you’d love to tackle or think need to be that haven’t been brought to the spotlight? Is there anything off limits to you?

Lauren: I don’t approach books by identifying issues I want to tackle, although all of my books do end up tackling some heavy issues because that has been my experience of the world and one of the purposes, I think, of writing books in the first place. My next standalone YA, Broken Things, will therefore deal with guilt and criminalization and also with the unhealthy dynamics that can sometimes develop between female friends–but the idea came to me not through its themes but because I became inspired by a real-life criminal case.

 

Dave:  In terms of research, planning, etc., what’s your favorite part of the writing process before sitting down to immerse yourself? What helps you write?
Lauren: Oh, the writing always comes first, the planning and research later, even though I know that sounds weird. I always “write my way in,” meaning that I just sit down for 15-20K words and feel my way through the language into the characters and the world. Then I sit down and think critically about an outline, about the central conflicts and antagonists, etc.

 

Dave: As a psychologist and therapist/teacher, I often ask other professionals how their childhood impacted career choices and how they go about helping the next generation. Teens today face many new issues and new slants on the ones we grappled with. What role do you believe teachers/guidance counselors have today?
Lauren: That’s a tremendously difficult question for me to answer. I can’t imagine the kind of pressures kids are facing today, but I can venture to guess that they would need the influence of guidance, care, and attention now more than ever, and in particular that they would find great value in face-to-face communication and conversation.

 

Dave:  Do you meet your readers mostly via social media, school/library/bookstore visits, or at conventions?

Lauren: All of the above!

 

Dave: What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and who gave it?

Lauren: My dad–he taught me to write every day.

 

Dave: What/who are your influences, past and present? When did you know you had to write for a living?

Lauren: I’ve always known I had to write, but I never at any point thought it had to be “for a living” (either then or now!). At a certain point I started writing novels, and at a certain point after that I decided to try and get them published, and at a certain point after that they did get published. But the publishing is only incidentally related to my great love of writing, in a way, which is an intrinsic part of who I am. As for influences, there are simply too many to list.

 

Dave: Monster Librarian is spotlighting women authors next month (and should EVERY month). I see more females reading in my schools than males, yet while when I was growing up, the trend appeared to be reversed. Why do you think this might be happening?

Lauren: That’s very surprising, actually–when I was a kid, I felt the girls read more than the boys, but then again, that is likely because my sample was quite skewed. In any case, I’m thrilled to hear that girls as well as boys are reading and hope that the continued efflorescence of fabulous literature for teens and children will just encourage more and more kids to read.

 

Thank you, Lauren, for answering our questions!