Hello everyone! Welcome to another post of Indie Recommends Indie! Today, I have author P. D. Alleva on the series! For those of you who love horror and fantasy, there are some great recommendations on this list. Without further ado, let’s meet Paul!
Thank you for being on this series, Paul! Please tell my readers a bit about yourself. 🙂
I write books, that’s what I do. Good ones, crazy ones, fun books, entertaining books, scary creepy books that are absolutely insane, books with depth and books with excitement, and books that rip out the heart of humanity and throws it on a slab to be feasted on. Yeah, that’s what I do, I write books. Oh, and I also hypnotize people who struggle with PTSD and addiction, but that’s my night job. Any questions?
Do you primarily read indie books or big publishers books as well?
I read a lot of indie published books, more than 80% of the books I read are indie published. Indie books are awesome and don’t need to bend to the narrative big publishing loves to shovel down readers’ throats. Today’s current indie market is reflective of the pulp fiction magazine days that existed from the early 1900’s to the late 1950s (and beyond as well, Wierd Tales is still going strong). Tons of authors punching brilliant imaginations across a keyboard in a tireless effort to entertain and be heard. It’s a great time to be an author, that’s for sure.
Paul’s Indie Recommendations
After the Devil by Kayla Krantz
Genre: Psychological horrorÂ
Published Year: 2020
Standalone
It’s our darkest parts that know us best.
Alex Alpine is unhappy with her life—a dead-end job, a marriage that’s falling apart, and a failed string of self-published books. In an effort to better her life for her and her daughter, she makes the decision to quit writing in order to get a second job. Jamie, a recovered addict and Alex’s only fan, can’t bring himself to accept her decision.
Convinced he can fix her, he kidnaps her and holds her hostage in his home in the woods. As Alex’s captivity extends from weeks to months, Alex finds herself torn between her duties to the daughter she left behind and the life Jamie has made for her. To figure out where her true priorities lie, she must dive into not only her own past traumas but Jamie’s as well.
The kind of story that stays with you days after you’ve turned over the last page. Kayla Krantz is a master at weaving psychology into a horror filled ‘I didn’t see that coming’ story. The psychology, terrifying, the horror, real. Krantz has a knack with grabbing the reader and thrusting the mind into the horror filled trenches with her characters, burrowing into the depths of psychological prisons wrought with the illusion of hope only to hand the reader despair and gasps as each page turns over to the next, dying to find out what happens in the coming chapter. The ending is surreal, clawing into the friction that teeters on the thin line between the sane and insane. Read this book. You will not be disappointed. This is excellent storytelling.
Readers who enjoy a good psychological thriller will fall in love with this book.
The Valley by Mike Salt
Genre: HorrorÂ
Published Year: 2020Â
Standalone
When Conrad and his wife set out to meet their friends for a simple weekend retreat, all they wanted was an easy weekend full of catching up and drinking. But when the group discovers a map that shows them the location of a hidden waterfall, hidden in the heart of an uncharted valley, they can’t help but jump at the opportunity to rediscover it.
What they don’t expect is to find an abandoned ghost town. Hidden away from the world with an evil secret.
Now Conrad and his group must do whatever they can to stay alive as they are hunted by an entity that feeds off the horrors that occur in the valley.
A horror they are doomed to repeat for eternity.
Winner of Inkshares 2018 Horror Competition, Mike Salt brings the reader into a dark world and never lets off the throttle.
Ok, so I’ve been following this author on Instagram-he does post some really funny good posts that’s for sure-and decided to pick up this book after he posted a copy of a really bad review concerning toilet paper (if you’re not laughing maybe its one of those had to be there to get it moments), but I do love my horror novels and as I said he’s got cool posts, so I decided to give it a try. I was not disappointed. Yes, I did enjoy spending time in the valley and the group of friends attempting to spend some quality time together that turns horribly in the wrong direction after a supposed madman begins hunting them down, forcing them into the valley where time and the valley exist in separate dimensions. Plus there are monsters hunting them. Very cool Mr. Salt and I did enjoy those bloody murder scenes. This is a good, solid, and intriguing read for any horror fan to sink their teeth into.
Pure horror fun. If you’re a reader who enjoys monsters, paranormal, and horror you will definitely enjoy Mike Salt.
Three Days in Ashford by Ty Tracey
Genre: HorrorÂ
Published Year: 2018Â
Standalone
Daniel Hallowell, by all standards, is a tough cookie. Despite growing up in a different foster home every few years and several run-ins with the authorities, he pulled himself up and put himself through college. A few years later, he became a household name as the most wildly successful paranormal investigator that the world had ever known. His success came complete with his own television show and a lucrative contract from the network that owned its rights. With his tight-knit crew in tow, the show would take him around the world to explore and document the most haunted locations the world had to offer.
A chance encounter one evening with a stranger in a hotel bar piques Daniel’s interest. He reluctantly agrees to investigate Ashford—a long abandoned town cut somewhere deep into the Ohio countryside. Having become intrigued by a stranger’s desperate and terrifying synopsis into a decades-long series of unexplainable events that had taken place there, Daniel and his eclectic crew of paranormal investigators clear their schedule and embark on a trip that they would come to regret for the rest of their lives.
As they struggle to unravel the terrifying truth that lies at the heart of the disturbances that plague Ashford, they find that they are being hunted from within the deep, foreboding forests that surround them on every side.
As Daniel slides deeper down the rabbit-hole and watches helplessly as his mind and sanity are slowly ripped away, he and his crew must embark on a journey across Ashford, across timelines and within the deep recesses of their own souls to uncover answers they otherwise would have never cared to know. Answers that will only serve to question the very psychological, physical, theological and philosophical meaning of our existence as a species.
However difficult to stomach, the only way to save themselves from the unimaginably savage force that threatens, not only their lives, but the very existence of humanity, is to decipher the riddle that haunts Ashford.
The town that Satan calls home.
I love intelligent reads that explore concepts and philosophies outside of mainstream thinking. Three Days in Ashford is not only terrifyingly entertaining, the concepts revealed in this other worldly horror story are intelligent and conceptualized perfectly. The story follows a team of paranormal investigators as they investigate the haunted town of Ashford, a place where time stands still and anyone and everyone appears to have a strange affiliation to the local asylum that burned down decades ago. But there’s more to this story than your typical haunted tale. Visits from other worldly beings driving blacked out SUV’s, inter-dimensional devils clawing at each other for a bite of fresh meat, and a protagonist who serves as the catalyst between two worlds; Three Days in Ashford ticks all the boxes on the horror checklist. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a horror novel outside of mainstream storytelling with a hook that drives deep into the mind with a pitchfork. Great read, that’s for sure.
Readers who love a damn good horror story with an intelligent take on metaphysical concepts wrapped in a surreal imagination.
The Alehouse Wars by Michael Evan
Genre: Satire, FantasyÂ
Published Year: 2020
Cider & Ale Chronicles #1
Seals and walruses have never gotten along.
Now they’re going to war over the most precious commodity…
Beer.
In a far flung future, harbor seals have formed their own society. They work. They play. They love. And they drink beer. Now The walruses want the secret of their foamy brew for themselves.
Led by Bruce Vitelli, they have a dastardly plan that will see the harbor seals broken.
JM, a young harbor seal, is not about to let that happen. But he knows they’ll need help. He goes on a quest to find the one thing that will give his people a fighting chance.
Little does he know the magic he’s about to inspire.
You are going to want to read this fun, satirical fantasy novella for the humorous characters and epic action!
You must read this story now!
This is a really fun and truly entertaining little book that was quite enjoyable to read. The story follows a group of beer loving seals who have managed to form their own peace loving society in the not so distant future. Only problem the seals have is the rival gang of mafia walruses who will stop at nothing to steal the precious beer formula, an effort the walruses believe will make them rich beyond their dreams. And hence the war begins culminating in an epic battle that pits seals against walruses, magic against force, and love against depravity. I love the satire and the father/son relationship. Action sequences were excellently written and the overall story was definitely worth a read. It’s good to get into a book that is pure entertainment and this book hit the nail on the head. Nothing better than a war over beer.
Readers who enjoy a good satire and who are looking for pure escapist literature will fall i love with this series.
Severn by S.E. Turner
Genre: FantasyÂ
Published Year: 2020Â
Kingdom of Durundal Series # 1
A LEGENDARY KING
A POWERFUL WARRIOR
A DARK PROMISE
Twelve-year-old Severn survives a raid on Orkney, but Magnus, King of the Vikings, hauls him away from his home and back to Norway.
Though timid and frightened at first, Severn learns to embrace his new surroundings and grows to become one of the greatest warriors of his time. However, in the struggle between family and loyalty, between personal ambition and commitment, there will be no easy path. But a man with a warrior’s courage may be able to find it. Such a man is Severn—warrior by instinct and Viking by nature—he has yet to reach his finest hour.
A rousing adventure of courage, treachery, duty, devotion, majesty, love and battle, as seen through the eyes of a warrior adjusting to a different world.
I’ve read a few books by this author and I must say that with Severn, SE Turner is turning into a master storyteller. The scenes and descriptions are breathtaking, it’s as if you are inside the story, experiencing everything just as the characters are. The writing is brilliant, the pace is perfect, and the story is touching in a way only SE Turner can demonstrate. The love story is gentle and tender, capturing first love with a delicate innocence that love so deserves. The battles, epic, the fantasy is fantastic, and the attention to detail in every aspect of the story deserves great praise and understanding of research and know-how. I give high praise to SE Turner and highly recommend Severn as a top of the line fantasy adventure.
Any fantasy lover will absolutely fall in love with any and all of SE Turner’s books. She’s a must read author for fantasy readers.
Paul’s Book Spotlight
Golem
Genre: Psychological Horror
Published Year: 2021
A haunting tale of suspense, loss, isolation, contempt, and fear.
On November 1, 1951, war hero John Ashton was promoted to detective. His first assignment: find the district attorney’s missing daughter. But his only lead is Alena Francon, a high society sculptor and socialite committed to Bellevue’s psychiatric facility.
Alena has a story for the new detective. A story so outlandish John Ashton refuses to heed the warning. Alena admits to incarnating Golem, a demonic force, into her statue. A devil so profound he’s infiltrated every part of New York’s infrastructure. Even worse, he uses children to serve as bodily hosts for his demonic army, unleashing a horde of devils into our world.
When Alena’s confidant, Annette Flemming, confirms the existence of Golem, John is sent on a collision course where fate and destiny spiral into peril, and the future of the human race hangs in the balance.
The Devil Is In The Details!
Find this book on Goodreads, Indie Story Geek, Amazon. You can also read an excerpt from the book on the blog!
Readers who enjoy books like The Shining, Interview With The Vampire, and The Silence of the Lambs will love this book.
Free Digital Copies are available in exchange for an honest review. If you’re interested contact the author directly @ pd@pdalleva.com (Must be able to review on Goodreads, and Amazon)
Connect with P.D. on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon and learn more on his website. You can also join his Facebook Reader Group and Book Club!
Did you add any books to your TBR today based on this post or did you see any you have already read? Tell us in the comments!
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Thanks for hanging out with us today!
Banner Photo of library by Alfons Morales on Unsplash
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