TWELVE TANTALIZINGLY TWISTED TALES
by David C. Hughes Genre: Children's / Horror (ages 8-11) Publisher: Progressive Rising Phoenix Press Date of Publication: July 29, 2016 Number of Pages: 176 Who can pass up a scary tale or a spooky ghost story, especially right before bed on a stormy night after eating a sloppy bean burrito? From possessed bunny slippers to a house guarding an ancient secret, Twelve Tantalizingly Twisted Tales features a dozen short stories sure to raise a few goosebumps, conjure a giggle . . . and make you think twice before disobeying your mom the next time she asks you to clean the shower stall. CLICK TO PURCHASE Amazon * Barnes & Noble * or Signed Copies from Progressive Rising Phoenix Press About The Author
David C. Hughes defies the premise that engineers can’t write. With almost four decades of writing experience, he left his full-time corporate job in 2013 to launch his writing career. He has a passion for writing and for other writers, and loves to “talk shop” with anyone who will listen.
A former youth leader and deacon, David’s life is resolutely defined by his pursuit of God, and his desire is to convey God’s love, joy, grace, and healing through his testimony. His blog site, “David C. Hughes, Writer,” broadcasts his latest take on what it means to be a Christ-centered man, husband, father, son, brother, and friend in these exciting and challenging times. His God-ordained book, The Epiphany of Joy, and his picture book, Melted Clowns, both won the Texas Association of Authors 2015 Best Book Award. He is also the author of 10 Little Hiccups/10 pequeños hipos, a bilingual counting book. In July 2016, Progressive Rising Phoenix Press released his latest book, Twelve Tantalizingly Twisted Tales, a collection of a dozen spooky stories aimed at 8 to 14 year olds. Originally from the town of Maine, New York, David now lives in Granbury, Texas with the loves of his life: his wife, Mary, and his daughter, Hannah. At last count he also has two dogs, a handful of fish, six chickens, and countless geckos. Author Links: TWITTER * AUTHOR WEBSITE * FACEBOOK * WRITER WEBSITE * AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE * LINKED IN My Review
I received this book in the mail from the author in order to read and provide an unbiased review during this blog tour. My husband decided to open our mail that day and was way too excited about this creepy tale and kept asking me if I had started it yet and how it was, so I finally just relinquished this title to him.
So really this is My Husband's Review: Prior to me starting my review I feel the need to apologize in advance as it has been many years since I have been asked to not only read a book, but to actually formulate an actual in-depth look at the book. So! Without any further ado. Here we go. When I first picked up this book I honestly had no idea what to expect. I have read many short stories throughout my years and even carried around a beautiful copy of the tales of the Brothers Grimm with me when my wife and I visited my father overseas last year. I seem to prefer short stories over novels, because my attention span is rather short and my memory lacking. So I anticipated reading maybe one story a night before getting some shut eye. To my surprise, however, I couldn’t seem to put the book down after I rummaged from one story to the next. The tales were simple to follow but somehow managed to drag the readers mind deep into the pages, past the words and into the very lands that were being described in such detail. The characters of the tales were described so vividly, I could picture myself there beside them, chasing a massive pink frog or staring in horror and amazement at a seven foot creature the likes that we have never seen before. Each of the twelve tales seemed to follow the standard outline of a good story. You had your main character (the protagonist), the villain (antagonist) and something that draws you into the story, such as a magical object or a secret that the character(s) knows but you are not aware of yet. Each story also twists at your imagination, which would have more than likely horrified me and gave me nightmares when I was a much younger boy. Luckily I sleep like the dead so stories, even good ones, don’t seem to come between me and my precious 6 hours of sleep anymore. But as I mentioned above, this book had a tricky way of captivating me. My one story became two, and then three until I realized I was halfway through the book and the clock flashed four numbers at me that told me to go to sleep already. I very much enjoyed the dark paths each story took, filling the readers mind with a curiosity on what will happen next or silently yelling No Way! I also appreciated that even though the stories would scare the sox off my niece, they had innocence to them, whether it was getting square with a bully or two, or dealing with a strange fascination for pistachio ice cream. You can tell that each story was carefully crafted from the beginning all the way to the end, which always seemed to have a clever way of tying everything together. David C. Hughes did an outstanding job of constructing these twelve short stories that make me reminisce of when I was younger and used to preoccupy my time reading RL Stein, The Brothers Grimm or even Aesop’s Fables. I admire his creativity and writing prowess and feel that this world’s next generations of readers have great story writers waiting to open up the doors to their imagination! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!
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