Thank you, author, Kaye Lynne Booth, for inviting me over to Writing to be Read to talk about my dark/horror writing and how I started writing in this genre.

Today my guest is an author who I’ve gotten to know well, because she is a member of the Writing to be Read team, where she writes a monthly blog segment on children’s literature that’s proven to be very popular, “Growing Bookworms”. By day she walks in the world of fondant and children’s fiction, but when darkness falls she transforms into an emerging horror author. But this author doesn’t just emerge, she explodes onto the scene with  this month’s release of her first novel length horror tale, Through the Nethergate.  In addition, this month she also has a short story appearing  in  Dan Alatorre’s Nightmarland anthology, and another coming out in the WordCrafter paranormal anthology, Whispers of the Past. I’m really excited to be able to interview her about her experiences with horror, so please help me welcome author Roberta Eaton Cheadle.

Kaye: You started out writing children’s stories with your son, but you’ve recently leaped into the horror realm, which is kind of at the opposite extreme of the spectrum. Was that a hard transition for you?

Roberta: It wasn’t a hard transition for me at all. I have always loved supernatural, horror and dark psychological thrillers so I think this genre comes naturally to me. More recently I have been reading and re-reading a lot of dystopian fiction such as Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and The Long Walk by Richard Bachman (aka Stephen King).

I can remember reading my Mom’s copy of Stephen King’s The Shining behind the couch in the lounge when I was ten years old. After that book, I worked my way through the rest of her Stephen King collection and several other adult horror books too.

Kaye: Can you name one thing you have to think about when writing horror that you might not ever think about when writing for children, (or any other genre, maybe)?

Roberta: When writing from the point of view of the victim, I need to imagine their fear and describe this in a way that brings out the same emotion in the reader. When writing from the point of view of the party who sees a ghost or discovers a body, I need to imagine their shock and horror at what they are seeing. To describe the tumultuous feelings that would bubble up inside them at seeing something truly frightening or gruesome.

I would never attempt to scare children or invoke feelings of fear and anxiety in them. My Sir Chocolate books series is my attempt to draw children into a happy and safe world of complete fantasy where good always wins and any less likable characters are drawn into the circle of friendship and become part of the team.

Read the rest of this interview here: https://kayelynnebooth.wordpress.com/2019/10/14/interview-with-horror-author-roberta-eaton-cheadle/

What is your preferred method of writing? (by hand, on a computer, dictate it?)

This is a very easy question for me. My whole writing process is computerised. I write using both my laptops, one for writing and one for research and I often use my big screen too. At the moment I am using it to display the developmental comments I received on my new obsession WIP, A Ghost and his Gold.

I create notes on my plot outline in excel together with details of each character, including their full name, basic looks and sex. I then consider their role in the story and assign their charactarisation i.e. What kind of a person are they? Do they play by the rules of society or do they try to make their own rules? Are they idealistic, romantic, a reader, a dreamer? What characteristics do I need to assign them to make them work in their role i.e. in Through the Nethergate, Father Merton needed to be a bit superstitious and come from a background that accepted the idea of ghosts and demons. Without these characteristics, his character wouldn’t have performed convincingly in his role in the story. In A Ghost and his Gold, the main character, Pieter, is a reader and a bit of an academic. This is a bit unusual among his peers and he has been mocked for it in the past, but it is necessary for him to have an ability to question the circumstances of the war, to expect a negative outcome and to be able to feel great remorse and self depreciation for perceived wrong decisions. For me, the characterisation of my characters if vital so that I can get the emotion and description of situations and circumstances in the story correct.

I could probably create these tables by hand, but I haven’t really grown up in a “by hand” world. My whole working life has involved excel, word and power point so writing by hand doesn’t come naturally to me. Anyhow, my computer reliant generation can’t spell for toffee sticks and I am completely dependent on spell check.

I write in word because I am very proficient in that programme and it enables me to mark up changes, indicate movements of text and make notes and comments. These are for my own benefit and, sometimes, for the benefit of my editor.

I create my adverts in power point using my own photographs, which I change using a design programme. I then insert the book cover and a quote from the story into the advert. Once it is complete, I covert it to a jpeg and it is ready to go.

I use a designer to create my book covers so I don’t have a computer programme for those.

What are other blog-hoppers’ preferred writing methods?  Click on the blue button below to find out, or simply add a comment or even your own blog post.

Rules:1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

The stillness of the small figure in the bed makes Marta wonder fleetingly if she has died. She is as motionless as stone, arms lying limply on top of the blankets, until Marta gently touches her cheek. Reacting with great fear, she jerks her body backwards, hitting her head against the wall behind her. Marta can see abrasions and marks on her lower face and around her wrist. They stand out cruelly against her smooth flawless skin. Dark eyes fluttering open, she looks at Marta, who sees recognition stirring in their depths. She seems incapable of speech and makes no sound, but watches warily as Marta sets about caring for her wounds and bruises.

Marta wets the rags she has brought with her in the brine solution and cleans the open cuts. The sight of the puffy and discoloured side of her ribcage brings tears to her eyes. She shows Ardrina how to make a poultice from bread and wine to ease Dorthina’s bruising. The women boil the mixture over the open fire outside and, once it has cooled completely, apply it to Dorthina’s damaged flesh. She knows that Ardrina would have preferred a shaman’s remedies and is only accepting her help because nothing else is available.

Martha dips a little bread in some warmed milk and offers it to the girl. She eats a tiny amount and then turns her head away, starring with indifferent blankness at the wall.

“Let her sleep, Ardrina. Stay with her today and keep an eye on her. Clean her wounds with the brine solution again after supper and reapply the bread poultice. Send one of the children to fetch the beef tea tonight. It will be ready by then.”

Marta left the grieving woman and her daughter alone and walked back to her own house. She has done what she can for Dorthina’s external wounds. The damage to her soul will be much more difficult to heal.

This is an extract from A Ghost and his Gold. It was going to be a novella, however, I received amazing comments from my developmental editor, Esther Chilton, and now my head is filled with a whole lot of new ideas to expand this story. I think it may end up a novel. Isn’t life great!

You can join in Sue Vincent’s wonderful photo prompt: Stillness here: https://scvincent.com/2019/10/10/thursday-photo-prompt-stillness-writephoto/

About Fallout

WHEN EVERYTHING FALLS APART, WHAT CAN YOU DO?

The year is 3040.

The location is Exxon 1, part of a six-planet system in settled space.

Determined to avoid the mistakes of old Earth, the surviving humans avoided democracy and opted, instead, for a non-elective totalitarian system.

The new way worked well, until now.

A crazy, despotic president releases a nano-virus on the population.

No one was ready for the fallout. It came anyway.

In this post-apocalyptic world, can you stay safe?

Praise for FALLOUT:

‘If you like dark, dangerous, and a little bit demented, this is the novel for you.’ … Staci Troilo

‘Fallout by Harmony Kent is a dark, gritty, twisted apocalyptic story guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat.’… Mae Clair

My review

Fallout is a dystopian novel which reflects a future world where technology has become such an integral part of society and human life that people rely on implants to advise them on every aspect of their daily life from judging human nature to security to undertaking work tasks. People work and live in zones together with others who have similar jobs, lifestyles and capabilities to their own.

When a disruption, on the form of a virus, impacts on the smooth routine of peoples lives, they find themselves struggling to pick up the pieces without the continuous flow of information from their implants. Only those who can get their wits together quickly can survive in the new lawless society. In addition, avoidance of contamination by the virus is also a necessary requirement for survival and that makes life even more complex, especially for the unwary who are conditioned by their past lifestyles.

We first meet Priya wondering around an unknown zone, having fled her own when it becomes impossible for her to continue to live in her apartment in the aftermath of the societal breakdown caused by the virus. Priya falls prey to an unscrupulous band of infected men who violently abuse her and leave her for dead. She is found by a member of the ruling political party’s military personal who is on a quest to find an antidote to the virus. Despite his reservations, Kaleb is compelled to save Priya and, by doing so, changes the course of his life and the search he is conducting. The antidote is believed to have been in the possession of a female scientist, on the wife of the second in command to the president, when her helipad exploded, purportedly killing her and losing the only vial containing the antidote at the same time.

On Exxon 1, the planet where the virus is raging out of control, nothing is as it seems as the power hungry and malevolent president seems to have plans of his own which none of his leadership are aware of.

I enjoyed Priya’s journey from a naive and ill informed woman with no survival skills into a strong woman with great empathy and excellent leadership skills. Kaleb is a dark and brooding character with a painful background and a lot of inner turmoil. His path in the book is not an easy one and is heart rending to watch unfurl.

The other supporting characters in the book are well described and interesting. The growth in the female characters makes for compelling reading as they evolve into mature women, capable over overcoming their past hurts and moving forward into leadership roles.

The fast pace does not slow for a moment and the reader is riveted by the action, subterfuge and often ill advised actions of many of the characters who have suffered at the hands of the government and administration.

I would certainly recommend this book for lovers of dystopia and science fiction with strong female role models.

Purchase Fallout by Harmony Kent

Writing to be Read has shared a review of Through the Nethergate, my first supernatural book for young adults. Thank you, Kaye Lynne Booth for sharing your thoughts.

Through the Nethergate, by Roberta Eaton Cheadle, is a captivating journey in the here and now that reaches through the barriers of time to bring legend to life, and it’s a very scary legend. This is a tale of horror, but not all spirits are evil, and many of Cheadle’s ghosts make up the cast of characters. Cheadle brings the characters in this story life masterfully, even the ghostly ones, whose backstories are woven into the legend’s tapestry to become part of the whole while still standing on their own individually.

Continue reading here: https://kayelynnebooth.wordpress.com/2019/10/11/through-the-nethergate-a-supernatural-journey-through-time/

Through the Nethergate is currently available here:

https://tslbooks.uk/product/through-the-nethergate-roberta-eaton-cheadle/

http://www.lulu.com/shop/roberta-eaton-cheadle/through-the-nethergate/ebook/product-24208518.html

Follow Roberta Eaton Cheadle here:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobertaEaton17

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robertawrites/?modal=admin_todo_tour

Blog: https://wordpress.com/view/robertawrites235681907.wordpress.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19631306.Roberta_Eaton_Cheadle

Website: https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/

Charles French is the creator of the Underground Library Society which is modeled on the concept of people becoming “books” in the manner contemplated in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. My choice of book is 1984 by George Orwell and the post below sets out my thoughts on this famous book and why I think it would be important to save this particular literary work.

Underground Library Society

Thank you to Robbie Cheadle for her post on 1984 by George Orwell. With this entry, Robbie has joined the U. L. s., the Underground Library Society, dedicated to opposing book censorship and book banning. Please visit her blog Robbie’s inspiration .

If a society similar to that depicted in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury were to somehow come into existence and all books were banned, I would want to be part of any group involved in preserving books. If that meant learning a book off by heart, I would be prepared to do that. The big question for me would be what book to choose.

Out of all the wonderful and amazing books out there, my choice is 1984 by George Orwell. My over view of this book and my reasons as to why I believe it is still relevant to us are as follows:

1984 is a dystopian novel that was written years ago to portray a possible future for mankind as envisaged by the author in 1949. Why would anyone want to read this book now? 1984 passed more than thirty years ago so why would this book still be a worthwhile read today? The answer is that the content and ideas presented in this book are still relevant and it portrays a future that is still a possible outcome for humanity if the threats to our existing lifestyles and our planet are not resolved and harsh totalitarian measures need to be introduced as a last desperate measure to save our world. The threat of world destruction using nuclear weapons is much less likely now than in 1949, but modern people merely face new threats and obstacles which are also of our own   creation.

1984 is set in a world where the inhabited landmasses are divided into three significant superpowers, all of which are ruled by political parties where the systems of government are centralized and dictatorial and require complete subservience to the state by their citizens. The three superpowers are continuously at war and their populations live in a state of perpetual deprivation and fear of being bombed. The reason for this state of affairs becomes clear to the reader at a later stage in the book.

Winston Smith, the hero of the story, is a member of the Party and this requires him to believe in their political mandate completely and entirely. No questioning of Party doctrine is tolerated in any form and the party has methods of policing every aspect of their members’ lives including their thoughts and dreams. Every party member has an invasive screen, in the manner of a modern television, which the party can access to spy on the activities of its members. Party members are encouraged to suppress any sexual feelings other than the need to reproduce and children belong to clubs and groups where they are effectively turned against their parents and encouraged to spy on them for the state. In this way, the Party has broken down all the natural human bonds and relationships and turned people into lonely individuals with no way of forming into dissenting groups.

Winston is a thoughtful man with a high intellect whose job involves changing previously printed news articles and books to recreate the past in the manner dictated by the current wants of the Party. Nothing is safe from intervention by the Party, which is represented by a giant picture of “Big Brother”. Even the dictionary is continuously being re-written to delete unnecessary words and party members are encourage to use a reduced version of language know as New Speak.

“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”
― George Orwell, 1984

Carry on reading here: https://charlesfrenchonwordsreadingandwriting.wordpress.com/2019/10/07/a-new-u-l-s-member-and-a-post-on-1984-by-george-orwell/

The surrounding trees, robed in the magnificent colours of autumn, reflected within the dark depths of the girl’s eyes as she gazed up at him. She was young, only thirteen years old and her face still had the cherubic look of childhood despite the reddening of her eyes and the unnatural whiteness of her skin.

The unexpected and fast moving flash flood had swept away the light wooden bridge she was crossing. In a tumult of debris she had plunged into the water and her legs had become trapped by fallen poles.

He had come across her hours later and considered it a miracle that she had survived the fall. Without the necessary tools he was unable to pull her free and he watched in horrified desperation as the water crept higher.

She knew she was going to die and had come to terms with it, whispering her goodbyes to her mother and brother in a rasping voice as the water lapped at her chin. She lifted her hand, the skin shriveled and puckered from being submerged in water for so many hours, and waved gently at him. Her strength was fading

The acceptance and lack of expectation of survival in her brown orbs broke his heart. There was nothing he could do to help her.

The water covered her mouth and then her nose. He knew she was dead when the bubbles stopped.

A bright copper leaf fell from a tree and swirled around her crown, before bobbing away like a small boat, free to go where it wanted.

Written for Sue Vincent’s weekly write photograph challenge. You can join in here: https://scvincent.com/2019/10/03/thursday-photo-prompt-copper-writephoto/

Linda G. Hill has given us the following prompt for her Stream of Consciousness Saturday post this week: Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “-tast-.” Find a word that contains “tast” and use it in your post. Enjoy!

During our recent trip to Budapest, I spread my wings a bit food wise and tasted some very tasty dishes. I have blogger extraordinaire, John Rieber, to thank for stretching my food sense of adventure. If you don’t know John, you really should visit his wonderful blog, https://johnrieber.com/. John writes entertaining posts about food, travel, movies and life in Hollywood. Here is his post about Budapest at night: https://johnrieber.com/2019/02/28/budapest-after-dark-tour-their-incredible-ruin-bars-hungary-nightlife-with-a-history/

I had this delicious mozzarella cheese and pesto toasted pita bread at Anna Cafe on Vasi Street, Budapest. Vaci Street is one of the main pedestrian thoroughfares, and possibly the most famous street, in Central Budapest.

This was my breakfast on two of our mornings in Budapest. A giant pretzel with paprika flavoured curd cheese and Hungarian beef sausage flavoured with paprika. So delicious!

For dinner on our second evening in the city, I had traditional Hungarian goulash at a Hungarian restaurant. It was so tasty.

Mr Fox had chicken breast in a paprika sauce. I didn’t taste his, but he says it was delicious.

On night three, we went to an Italian restaurant. Mr Fox had the delicious salmon dish featured above. I had mushroom risotto which was amazing. I couldn’t eat it all as I had a tummy ache after eating far to much curd and goat’s cheese that day. I am lucky I wasn’t sick.

Budapest is an amazing city and food is awesome. I recommend it as a holiday destination.

You can join in Linda’s challenge here: https://lindaghill.com/2019/10/04/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-oct-5-19/

I usually post a book review on a Wednesday. This week, however, I didn’t manage to post my 99-word flash fiction piece for Charli Mills’ prompt yesterday, so I decided to share this today and my book review tomorrow.

You can join in Charli’s prompt – Unremembered, here: https://carrotranch.com/2019/09/27/september-26-flash-fiction-challenge/

The unexpected sight of the frozen tableau inside the shrine caused the team of archaeologists to gasp in shock. The faces of the three Incan children, who had been sacrificed five hundred years earlier, were peaceful. The oldest, a girl they nicknamed the Maiden, had a half smile playing around the corners of her mouth.

Analysis of hair samples from the frozen mummies found entombed in a subterranean chamber, revealed that the children had all been drugged with coca leaves and alcoholic beverages.

This historical discovery ensured that the Maiden, Llullaillaco Boy and Lightning Girl, would not be forgotten.

If you would like to read my vision of the Maiden’s death, you can do so here: https://robertawrites235681907.wordpress.com/2019/09/29/writephoto-harbinger/

If you would like to read more about these mummies, you can do so here: https://www.livescience.com/38504-incan-child-mummies-lives-revealed.html

This week’s topic is easy for me. I have never had writers block. I don’t think I have been writing long enough for it to have struck yet.

I started writing in January 2015 and published my first Sir Chocolate book, Sir Chocolate and the strawberry cream berries story and cookbook in August 2016. Since then I have written the following books and WIPS:

• Five further books in the Sir Chocolate series for young children, aged between 3 and 7 years old, with three more written and more or less final;
• One book for middle school children called Silly Willy goes to Cape Town, with another book in this series, Silly Willy goes to London three thirds finished;
• One historical novella for older teens about my mom’s life growing up in WWII in a small English town in Suffolk, England. Book 2 in this series, After the Bombs Fell, is started and I have the first few chapters complete;
• One published historical supernatural novel that will be available on Amazon this month called Through the Nethergate;
• One novella about the Second Anglo Boer War that is also historical supernatural in its content. That went to my editor yesterday;
• Half of the first book in a trilogy about a world dealing with severe climate crisis and the unemployment caused by the Fourth Industrial Revolution;
• Short stories in two published anthologies, Dark Visions (2 stories), edited by Dan Alatorre, and Death Among Us (3 stories), edited by Stephen Bentley; and
• Short stories in two anthologies that will be published this month, Nightmareland (sequel to Dark Visions) (3 stories), edited by Dan Alatorre, and Whispers of the past, a Wordcrafter paranormal anthology (2 stories), edited by Kaye Lynne Booth.

I have ideas for a bunch of new short stories which come to me when I participate in various writing prompts. I have the outline of these stories in my head but need the time to write them down properly.

If and when I ever get writer’s block, I will stop writing and more on to a new obsession. Most of my readers know that I am a creature of obsessions and have had a number in my life from teaching spinning and cycling to running a Sunday School and baking. One day if writing has run its course in my life, I shall simply let it go. That may never happen, of course, writing isn’t something you easily get tired of, it is to versatile and I have always been passionate about reading.

How do other blog-hoppers cope with writer’s block?  Click on the blue button below to find out, or add your own blog or just a comment.

Rules:

1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!