Sian B. Claven's Blog

So I guess the first thing I should do is apologize for disappearing into the ether. I was broken, abused and taken advantage of. I...

So I guess the first thing I should do is apologize for disappearing into the ether. I was broken, abused and taken advantage of. I...

This month I've been hard at work to get Homeward Bound and Watched completed, I might run a little into February. I'm also working on the plot for the Milford Manor series. I don't know if I should call it The Haunting of Milford Manor or Just The Milford Manor Trilogy. The first book is called The House that Lived.

I'm really excited for all the words this year! Aside from Watched, Homeward Bound and The House that Lived, I'm also going to be writing Animals and Pretty Purfect.

A nice little sum up of what I'm up to.

Personally I have quit smoking so expect my books to be rather violent. But overall, I think we're going to have fun this year.

Author: Scott Cawthorn, Kira Breed-Wrisley

5 Stars

Review:

What a spooky idea I loved the game and I loved the book. I’m shaky as I write this cause it’s just so good! Highly recommended read.

Blurb:

Ten years after the horrific murders at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza that ripped their town apart, Charlie, whose father owned the restaurant, and her childhood friends reunite on the anniversary of the tragedy and find themselves at the old pizza place which had been locked up and abandoned for years. After they discover a way inside, they realize that things are not as they used to be. The four adult-sized animatronic mascots that once entertained patrons have changed. They now have a dark secret . . . and a murderous agenda.

Grab your copy now

The Asylum is built of multiple levels and each level has it’s own recreational room. There is one though, near the third floor, which is for the more dangerous patients. Midgets humping wooden chairs, patients attacking nurses and killing them, spooky apparitions that come and go as they please.

As you walk through the double doors immediately to your left is a reception area. It has a counter and then from the counter top to the ceiling is a cage to keep the patients out. This is only accessible by nurses with keys and it’s where they sit and monitor the patients.

Straight ahead of the doors the wall is lined with some rather uncomfortable chairs for patients to sit on if they want to read. Just past the chairs is the small bookshelf with a collection of donated, battered books on that some patients have ripped to shreds. If any are in readable condition, it would be surprising.

To the left of the room are some broken and battered sofa’s between windows. The patients in wheelchairs or restrained are placed directly in the sunlight for the duration of their time because they don’t get to explore the grounds of the Asylum like other patients.

The nurses do play music for the patients, but it’s never their choice what music will be played. It’s mostly classical music to keep everyone calm. The only time the music goes off is three times a day for medicine and food time. Otherwise it plays softly in the background.

There are some tables in the back for the patients that want to play boardgames, or rather who know how to. Very few do and most of the pieces are missing from the games so that’s often given up upon quite quickly.

It is the least nicest recreational room in the building but don’t tell Dr Wellbottom that.

Read more about the Asylum in Asylum I and Asylum II.

Elsa is young and naive when she enters the Asylum but quickly becomes a favourite nurse, included even in a certain doctors experiments. Some say she falls for him, others say she slowly loses her mind. You will have to decide for yourself when you read the book.

Have you always wanted to be a nurse? Specifically, one that works in psychiatric institutions.

I’ve always enjoyed helping people, I think that it is just something that is part of who I am. I knew I wanted to become a nurse and then I realized that the people who needed the most help was those who were not of sound mind I naturally gravitated to that speciality in my studies.

What do you love most about your job?

There are so many amazing aspects to my job but mostly I like to see how Doctors like Dr Hans works, he is a genius and he is going to revolutionize how patients are treated for psychiatric conditions. I’m honoured to work closely with such a brilliant man.

Who is your favourite patient?

Oh honey, we’re not supposed to pick favourite patients. I mean, there is this one little girl I see from time to time. I can’t believe someone so young is in our facility but she’s an absolute sweetheart. Her name is Clara.

Tell us a little about your life growing up.

There isn’t much to tell about my life. I wasn’t the most popular in school but I wasn’t really an outcast. I mean I think I just see the world differently to others. Seeing is believe, and actions speak a lot louder than words, that says the most about my life. I’ve always been someone of action.

What is the worst thing a friend can do to you?

Not keep something secret. If I tell you something in confidence then I expect you to keep it to yourself. Otherwise you’re not trustworthy and clearly not someone I want to associate with.

Do you believe in the Supernatural?

Of course not, silly. I’m a woman of science. Ghosts, goblins and ghoulies are just children’s stories made to keep kids scared and on the straight and narrow.

Any love interests?

I can’t really speak about this. Here I am a professional and while there might be a certain someone I have my eye on, well, it would be inappropriate to discuss it in an article of all things. Suffice to say I’m not bored.

Read about Elsa now in Asylum I.

Author Daniel Volpe

5 Stars

Talia... Talia... Talia... To say this is not what I was expecting is an understatement. I was warned about the graphic sex and amount of filth in this book but it was like ready poetry. It was weaved expertly and I had to know, what the F*** would Talia do next. The ending was not at all what I was expecting. The book wasn't at all what I was expecting. Read it. Now.

Blurb:

In the early 1990s the rising popularity of the video cassette gave birth to a seedy, underground world of illicit pornography.Talia, a Midwest dreamer, leaves home in search of fame under the blinding Broadway lights. But nothing could have prepared her for what she finds instead. Savage violence, bottomless depravity, and no way out.Talia will unapologetically drag you into the foul underbelly of society. A sanity straining journey, full of hot bloodshed and betrayal.

1. What sub-genre of Horror do you write?

Mainly extreme horror and splatterpunk, but I’m not opposed to exploring other sub-genres

2. Which is the best book that you’ve written (in your opinion) and what’s it about?

I think ONLY PSYCHOS is the best thing I’ve written. It combines an event that happened and mashes it up with some crazy splatter goodness. The book is about a massive snow storm hitting New York and driving a crazy cast of characters to a hotel run by a sadistic couple.

3. What advice would you give budding horror authors?

Don’t worry about what people think. Just write what you like to read. I also find that keeping a schedule works for me to stay on task.

4. Tell us about your background. Where you grew up and what life was like.

Born and raised in New York. I started my loved of horror at a very young age and my parents supported it since day 1.

5. Who is your favorite author in the horror genre?

Mainstream would have to be Stephen King and Indie would be Edward Lee

6. You’re stuck in a haunted underground mansion for the night, how do you survive the ever-changing passages and deadly ghosts?

I’m pretty short, so I’d find a small spot to hide

7. Who is your favourite villain? What book are they from and what was your favourite thing about them?

Probably whatever lurked at the bottom of the ocean in Nick Cutter’s THE DEEP. That book was one of the best I’ve ever read. The way it manipulated the MC’s mind was terrifying.

8. Where can we follow you? (3 links)

https://www.facebook.com/daniel.volpe.7

https://twitter.com/DJVolpeHorror

https://www.instagram.com/dj_volpe_ho...

When you first enter the Asylum, you are presented with three potential ways to go. A hallway to your left, a hallway to your right, and a hallway and stairs in front of you. However, if you turn to your left you’ll notice a door to the left of the entrance. This is the fourth and more secretive way to go.

When Dr Brock arrives at the facility, he gets a short tour of everything and then he is led through this door and down to the basement. Once you reach the landing, there are three doors. One leads to a room where observations are made, you can watch patients through a one-way mirror. In another room is the crematorium for disposal of bodies once patients have passed (it also serves as the so-called morgue) and the third room is Dr Brock’s office and examination room.

The crematorium is nothing special. It has the large cremator for the bodies, and it’s hot enough to heat up the office nearby because Dr Brock keeps it on at all times. Bodies are stored here in fridges that slide out.

The one-way mirror room is kept cooler and houses the surplus bodies. It is here that Dr Brock conducts many experiments while he observes his patients through the mirror.

When he is just having talk therapy or is examining his patients he uses his office which looks like a standard doctors office. There is an examination table, medical equipment, medicines, a desk to sit at and a fireplace.

Most people don’t like going to Dr Brock’s rooms because it’s rumoured that once you’ve been there, not only are not the same, but you don’t live for much longer after your consultation.

Want to explore the Asylum some more? Grab your copy now.

What brought you to America?

Scientists such as myself are not appreciated back in Europe, specifically in Germany. They say that our experimentations are inhuman, yet we didn’t experiment on innocent people. Surely you don’t care what becomes of a criminal? I digress, I wrote to the Asylum and offered my assistance with their patients as I’m developing new techniques that they are interested in.

What do you like to do in your spare?

I don’t really have spare time, but if I find a moment without something to do I like to go over my notes in my journal to see where I can improve. I’ve recently tried a gender modification surgery that I’m interested to try again. The patient, unfortunately, died due to unforeseen complications, but overall it was informative.

Do you have a favourite patient?

Clara is definitely on the top of my list, such an innocent girl locked away because she sought revenge for those who wronged her. I do believe justice did not prevail in this case and I’m working with her to get her well enough to return to normal society.

Do you have many friends in America?

None. I’m not really a social creature, most good scientists are hermits. I like to keep my private life private and I haven’t found someone I’m willing to share my life with, as a friend or a romantic interest. I think that socializing can be such a waste of time. I hate small talk!

What do you think of the Asylum? Any complaints?

While I am pleased that I have the latest gadgets and technologies at my disposal, I will admit the meals they provide us with are tasteless. German meals are rich in important fats, and the vegetables are seasoned so well you can’t resist eating them, not even a fussy child does. I don’t like the food here, it’s bland with no seasoning.

Do you believe in the Supernatural?

Hogwash in my opinion. There is no such thing as life after death and there is certainly no such thing as ghosts. I work with facts, scientific facts, and I don’t have time for such grand fancies to cloud my judgement.

What’s the strangest thing that has happened to you?

When you’re an expert in my field, there is very little that will surprise you. Humans are both complex and simple, and if you expect the unexpected you will never be caught off guard. One thing I will note though is that I get the strangest feeling in the institution that I’m being watched constantly. It is possible that I am simply overtired.

Read about Dr Hans Brock's experiments in Sian B. Claven's chilling Asylum I.