New Dark Fantasy Novel, 'The Dark Road': Reviews and a Giveaway!

Hi everyone! My novel, 'The Dark Road' has finally been re-released! After some seriously extensive edits (many thanks to my editor, Shontrell!) and a new cover (thanks Rebecca!), the book is now available to buy from Amazon.


Here is the blurb... 


What starts as an adventure for Sasha Mills turns into a terrifying fight for survival...

Emotionally blackmailed by the cold-footed fiancé she hasn’t seen in a year, Sasha abandons her life in London to track him in Siem Reap, Cambodia, where he’s teaching.

While in Bangkok, locals react strangely to her request to travel the following day, insisting it is a not a good day to travel despite numerous posters advertising buses running every day. Ignoring the warnings, Sasha assumes some kind of bank holiday and offers a large amount of money. She secures a seat on the solitary bus heading for Siem Reap.

Thrown together with a random group of international backpackers, including the handsome Josh, Sasha is no longer certain of what lies ahead as they cross the Cambodian border and the roads turn into dirt tracks.

Soon after, a storm like none she’s ever witnessed before descended upon them. When one of their group disappears off the side of the road, Sasha realizes she has more than just the warnings of land mines to worry about.

One by one, the travelers lose their minds as they are plunged into the terrifying secrets of the Dark Road.


The book has been getting some fantastic reviews so far (four five stars are already up on Amazon.com and one five start on Amazon.co.uk) and I hope they'll continue!


Here's what people have been saying about the book...


'A real page turner-I stayed up late to finish it. I dicovered Marissa Farrar's writting when read her Serenity series. I love those books and I love this one. If yo want to read a great thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat, then this is the book for you.'


'It's unusual for me to be unable to put a book down, but I stayed up way too late to finish this one. The Dark Road by Marissa Farrar has a page-turning intensity reminiscent of classic Crichton. We follow Sasha, Josh, and a party of travelers in Thailand and Cambodia on a very ill-advised bus trip... This is an author I recently discovered via her short story, The Body Farm. I've read several more of her works since then. Her Serenity series is also compelling, and I recommend it. (First book is "Alone.") The Dark Road was a gut-clenching, nerve-jangling adventure!'


'If you are looking for for a book that has expertly written characters with dimension and a story line that keeps you on the edge of your seat, then this book is the one is for you. Marissa Farrar's "The Dark Road" is not only a story that keeps you guessing, but also adds that unexpected element of "what, WHAT'S NEXT??" "If you think you have if figured out, chances are you don't.'


To celebrate the release of the book, I'd like to give away three copies to three lucky winners! All you need to do is tell me; what is the scariest place you've ever visited or travelled to? Answering my question will buy  you one entry, tweeting about the giveaway will by you another (make sure you copy me in @MarissaFarrar so I know about it) and liking my facebook page will buy you a third. Make sure you leave your email addy in  your comment so I can contact you if you win.


The giveaway will be open all weekend and I'll announce the winners on Monday. Looking forward to reading your answers!


Marissa

Book Review - Crude Sunlight by Philip Tucker

In my last review I mentioned reading some excellent indie novels. Having a kindle has opened up a whole new world of reading for me and, because of easy access and cheap prices, I've taken the risk to try different authors I probably wouldn't have considered before. For all those readers who are still shunning the eBook revolution, I urge you to get yourself an e-reader of some sort. You can still read paperbacks, but you'll also be able to read a whole heap of other books you can download instantly and cheaply (and in some instances, even free!).

Anyway, I digress (as I often do...). Back to the review!

Thomas Verkraft's younger brother, Henry, has gone missing. Thomas takes the opportunity to run away from his troubled marriage in New York to travel up to Buffalo to clear out Henry's apartment and see if he can learn anything about where Henry has gone. No one is particularly troubled by Henry's disappearance as he's an artistic type, and his family just think he's gone off travelling. However, when Thomas starts to sort out Henry's things, he discovers photographs and video footage of some creepy goings on in old abandoned buildings.

Thomas contacts Henry's ex-girlfriend, Julia, who at first is uncooperative but then breaks down and tells Thomas a bit about what has been happening. A group of the students have been breaking into abandoned buildings, but then one night they see something  that changes them forever.

Determined to find out what has happened to Henry, and with the edgy but melancholy Julia by his side, Thomas heads back into the tunnels.

'Crude Sunlight' is exactly the sort of novel I love. It's subtle, but still manages to be full of creepiness. Ultimately 'Crude Sunlight' is a ghost story and the ghosts are written very well. There is no blood or gore, just a fantastic atmosphere that sends shivers down the spine.

The characters are all well-developed and totally believable. Each one has their flaws, yet I couldn't help but be behind them every step of the way. There is a thread of romance, which always endeers characters to me. Even though Thomas was married and Julia had been with Henry, I still soooo badly wanted them to get together!

My only complaint is that the author didn't take the characters back beneath ground for the final scene. I really think this would have ended the book perfectly. However, this is a small complaint in a book I otherwise loved.

The author mentions 'Silent Hill' in the product description, but I didn't realise this until I got to the end of the book. 'Silent Hill' is one of my favourite movies and he totally captured that same, industrial, high tension atmosphere.

If I can do half stars, I'd give this one a four and a half stars! It dropped half a star for the reason I mentioned and because the author does tend to write rather long sentences which I occasionally had to go back and re-read! (But as I mentioned, this is a really small negative!).

If you love scary ghost stories with believable, edgy characters, you'll love 'Crude Sunlight'!

'Crude Sunlight' is available to buy from Amazon $4.99!

Book Review - 'The Well' by Peter Labrow

I've been reading some amazing novels by Indie authors lately. Since getting my kindle, it's opened up a whole world of great reading brought to us via self-pubbed or small press authors who's books otherwise would probably never have seen the light of day.

Peter Labrow's paranormal suspense novel is one of those books. I can't remember exactly where I first made contact with Peter Labrow -- I assume it was twitter or facebook -- but as soon as I read the blurb for his book, I knew I wanted to read it.

'The Well' centres around the main character, Becca Richards, and her boyfriend (and potential step-brother) falling to the bottom of an ancient well. Their parents are away for the weekend and no one is going to even know they're missing for at least a couple of days.

I can't really review this book without giving a slight spoiler, but it does happen near the start of the book, so I don't think I'm giving away too much. If you don't want to know, just go and buy the book now and find out for yourself. Otherwise, keep reading...

The step-brother is badly hurt in the fall and soon passes away, leaving Becca trapped at the bottom of the well with the decaying body of the boy she'd thought she'd come to love. On top of that, there is someone else down there. A ghostly woman who doesn't want Becca to leave.

There are a number of other side characters to the novel; the parents, still away, but increasingly worried when the can't get hold of the kids. There's a lesbian couple whose past is tied to the woman in the well, and their psychic daughter, Samantha. And, if that wasn't enough, the local paedophile also has his eye on Becca but, after her disappearance, turns his attention to Becca's best friend, Hannah.

Though there are a number of other characters, it's really the scenes of Becca trapped in the well and her efforts to both escape and survive that really had me gripped. Towards the end of the book, I literally was holding my breath with her. Though the other smaller plot lines pulled the book together at the end, I honestly would have been happy reading about Becca for the whole of the novel, though I guess this would have been a tough storyline for the author to stretch into a full length book!

The only characters I weren't keen on were the lesbian couple. I didn't fully believe in their motives and felt they were a little too easily accepted. What they'd decided to do was pretty horrific really, but it was almost decided without much of an argument.

However, this is a small point. Overall, I loved the book and I very much hope Peter Labrow is penning another. I'll be first in line for a copy! If you want a well-written, action packed, highly suspenseful paranormal novel, you can't go wrong with 'The Well.'

Five stars!!!

'The Well' can be bought from Amazon for only $2.99.

Review - Paranormal Activity 2

I've been putting off watching this movie for one reason; it centres around a baby. When I watched the first P.A., I was heavily pregnant with my youngest daughter. In fact, the morning after watching the movie, I was taken into  hospital and induced. Of course this has absolutely nothing to do with the movie (it wasn't that good!) but the two are inextricably linked in my mind.

So when I saw the trailer for P.A.2, I mentally groaned. I hate anything bad happening to kids or animals in movies, and this film had both. When I watch a good movie or read a good book, I can't help but put myself in the place of the protagonists and watching something bad happen to a baby in a cot, when I had a baby in a cot upstairs, was just too much.

However, now my baby is more of a toddler so I forced myself to sit down and watch it.

The film starts in much the same way P.A. does. It's very slow at the beginning with not much happening except a few hints about a ghost. The couple in this movie are linked to the first P.A. as the wife is the sister of the woman in P.A. I wasn't expecting the first couple to show up, but they did and that's when I realised P.A. 2 is essentially the prequel to P.A. The couple have a new baby and they also have an older daughter who is the result of the husband's first marriage, but the girl's mother died.

There are all the same things going on--lots of action with a video camera coupled with footage taken from security cameras. There are things moving, doors slamming shut, kitchen cupboards opening all at once. It's the typical haunted house. What the directors do well is the anticipation of horror. Even though not much happens for the first forty-five minutes, I couldn't help but lean forward, gripped in the moment, trying to see the small spooky thing that was happening in the scene. For the most part everything is subtle--maybe a little too subtle--spooky noises, banging, pans falling down, doors moving slightly. But as soon as things focused back around the baby, I was hiding behind my pillow.

Overall, the ending left me with too many questions. It seemed very abrupt with little build up to the actual events. Also, as this movie was supposed to be a prequel, there is no way the things that happened in this movie wouldn't have tied in more with the first. The characters in P.A. would have definitely been mentioning the things that had just happened to their family. So for me it was just an okay movie. I will be watching P.A.3 however. It's supposed to be a prequel to the prequel, so it will be interesting to see how the directors handle that!

~*~

Like things a bit on the spooky side? Why not try Marissa Farrar's short story collection, Where the Dead Live, only $0.99 from your favourite eBook store, including Amazon for your Kindle.

In Celebration of Halloween... Win a copy of Alone.

Yep folks, this weekend Halloween celebration will be happening all over! I love this time of year cause I can indulge in my love of scary movies without feeling like a freak. I also love doing the whole 'pumpkin carving' and dress up thing with the kids. However, this is the one time of year I always wish I was in the States. America really knows how to celebrate Halloween, but in the UK we kind of have a toned down version.

On a personal level, I'm also celebrating the release of my second novel in my 'Serenity' series, 'Buried'. The book has been out for a week now and has been dipping in and out of the Amazon top 100 for Contemporary Fantasy. It's currently being offered at the 'friendship' price of $0.99 but this will only be priced at the amount for the next week, so if you want a copy, go grab it now from Amazon!

So to celebrate both of these events (Halloween and my book launch) I'd like to give away three copies of the first in the series 'Alone' to three readers. All you have to do is leave me a comment and tell me what you like to do on Halloween. Do you have a favourite movie to watch or go trick or treating with the kids? Just let me know! And please remember to leave you email addy or website link so I can contact you if you win!

Happy haunting everyone!

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

If you like being scared, then go see this movie.

I never saw the 1973 original, but a quick look on youtube shows that there are some of the same scenes, just a different take on them in del Toro's version.  Del Toro has a backstory to his creatures, as written in Blackwood's Guide to Dangerous Fairies.  This book serves as a "prequel" of sorts to the movie, ending right at the scene where the movie begins.  If you plan on seeing the movie, you may want to get the book first; I got the e-version but I've a strong suspicion that you should shell out the $$ for a hardcover/paperback copy, with beautiful (and creepy) illustrations to get the full effect.

Okay, so -- you know a horror movie is good when 3 things happen:  (1) you jump in your seat; (2) you have to use the "finger filters" over your eyes to block some scenes, and (3) you hesitate before you turn out the lights and go to bed that night.  All three of these happened when I saw Don't Be Afraid, so I highly recommend it.

The premise?  Emerson Blackwood built a huge, beautiful mansion in Rhode Island, which is now being renovated by Guy Pierce and Katie Holmes, in the hopes of landing the cover on Architectural Digest and reviving Pierce's career.  They are not man and wife, but boyfriend/girlfriend, and Pierce's daughter from a previous relationship is coming to stay with them for a while.

The girl, Sally, is disturbed and morose -- she feels her mother abandoned her, sending her all the way across the country to live with Dad and his younger girlfriend, Kim, to whom Sally takes an immediate dislike.  Of course, as an unhappy child, Sally is easy prey to certain... inhabitants... of the house who have long remained dormant, but come alive when a secret room is discovered and a child's voice is heard.

The movie is good not just from a scary standpoint -- it's very well laid-out and well-directed so that the story flows with no unnecessary scenes, and the suspense is intense.  The characters are not the typical cardboard cut-outs or stereotypes as in alot of horror movies; they have backgrounds, depth, and feelings that encompass fleshed-out people.  I will say that Guy Pierce's character, though well-acted, is a bit annoying.  Katie Holmes is very good as the girlfriend, and the child actor is superb in the role originated by Kim Darby (hmm, wonder if that's why the girlfriend's name is Kim in the movie?!).  And you do need interesting characters in this movie, because it does take a standard plot -- disturbed child is haunted by what everyone else thinks is her imagination, and she spends the movie dodging the real monsters and trying to convince Dad and Kim to leave the house because....

The monsters -- let me just say that every time I hear "tooth fairy", I shudder.  I'm not sure I'll be celebrating that tradition in my house when the time comes...

All in all -- buy the book, see the movie; they're spectacular!

Insidious - Movie Review

The  first thing I had to do before watching this film was look up the meaning of 'Insidious'. For anyone else who, like me, when asked for the definition said, 'something really bad', here it is...

1. Proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, but with harmful effects: "the insidious effects of stress".

2. Treacherous; crafty: "an insidious alliance"

The 'Paranormal Activity' writer had a part in writing the script and I could definitely see the resemblances. However, I think now it must be hard to come up with any truly original 'haunted house horror'. The way this film tackled the problem was by making the haunting not of the house, but the small boy who lived within its walls.

After moving to a new home, the family struggle to settled in. References are made to the mother wanting things to be 'different' implying that there were previous problems, though this was never really touched upon for the rest of the film. Shortly after moving in, the oldest son has an accident and doesn't wake up from a type of coma the doctors can't explain.

As soon as the boy is brought home (still in a coma) the mother starts to see terrifying things around the house, people running from one room to another, door slamming open, alarms going off (here I could really see P.A.). However, unlike most 'haunted house' horror movies, where I spend most of my time yelling at the screen, 'get out of the God-damned house then!', they actually do move.

However, the hauntings do not stop. The father's, mother arrives at the new house to help and introduces them to someone she feels might help, a woman called Elise. With Elise arrive two geeky guys who help her with 

her work. They all quickly discover it is not the house that is haunted but their son.

I'd heard a lot of hype about 'Insidious' without really hearing any of the details. I realise now this is because if the whole 'meaning' of the movie is gone into too much, it kind of spoils the whole originality of the film. Saying this, the original parts are tenuous and there were parts that were simply unbelievable. However, overall I did enjoy the movie and liked the different take on the 'haunted house' theme. Some of the film is very surreal, which I enjoyed, and I definitely had the cushion in hand for parts of it.

I think anyone who tackles this storyline is going to struggle to find somewhere new to go with it. 'Insidious' did a good job of taking things to a new level, but it wasn't original enough to make me think 'wow'. Still, it was an enjoyable movie and had enough ;jump' moments to keep me satisfied.