Horror Aficionados discussion
This topic is about
Criterium
Group Reads: Guest Author Invite
>
January 2021 Group Read #2 with Guest Author, Tyler Jones
date
newest »
newest »
This one sounds intriguing! Plus, KU is my price range!
Mod
I'm in! Got my copy today.
Mod
Hello Horror Aficionados! Thank you so much selecting CRITERIUM as a group read, and for inviting me to be part of it. I'm thrilled and honored to be here, to offer insight into the book, the story, and the writing of it. If you have any questions as you dive in, fire away! I hope the book offers some thrills and chills, and maybe even something more.
About to start on this one! I have to say the brief summary in the Kindle store reminded me of N0S4A2. Excited to give this a read!
I've struggled with addiction myself (3 years clean). Interested to see how you captured it, and maybe learn the inspiration behind it.
Megan wrote: "About to start on this one! I have to say the brief summary in the Kindle store reminded me of N0S4A2. Excited to give this a read!"That's really cool! Joe Hill is one of my favorite writers.
Megan wrote: "I've struggled with addiction myself (3 years clean). Interested to see how you captured it, and maybe learn the inspiration behind it."Congratulations on the sobriety, Megan! That's a battle not everyone wins, so that is truly something to be proud of. I'd love to hear what you think about that aspect in particular as you read the book. And I'm happy to talk about what I was thinking when I wrote it.
Tyler wrote: That's really cool! Joe Hill is one of my favorite writers. Congratulations on the sobriety, Megan! That's a battle not everyone wins, so that is truly something to be proud of. I'd love to hear what you think about that aspect in particular as you read the book. And I'm happy to talk about what I was thinking when I wrote it."
Joe Hill is one of mine as well, I look forward to more novels from him.
Thank you very much! It's not an easy life to live which makes me appreciate being on the other side of it that much more. I'm happy to share my thoughts and experience in that area as I delve into it more. I actually fell asleep after a few pages last night already, but will give others a chance to get started first.
I'm at 30% and really enjoying it. The writing captures a wonderfully painful note of truth.
83% I had to take a break from the emotional abuse afflicted on me by this book.
Michelle wrote: "I'm at 30% and really enjoying it. The writing captures a wonderfully painful note of truth."I'm so glad to hear that! Truth is definitely a goal when writing. One of my favorite quotes is, "Fiction is the lie that tells the truth truer." And truth is often painful, isn't it? It's the thing we don't always have words for, the things we don't even want to say.
Michelle wrote: "67% Omg! [spoilers removed]"
In the words of Mr. Burns, "Excellent!"
Megan wrote: "Tyler wrote: That's really cool! Joe Hill is one of my favorite writers. Congratulations on the sobriety, Megan! That's a battle not everyone wins, so that is truly something to be proud of. I'd ..."
Joe is a master storyteller with an incredible imagination. I look forward to another novel from him, as well!
I see, time and time again, that gratitude and an awareness of Time's march is a wonderful side effect of sobriety. It may be hard, but it certainly is a more honest and meaningful way to live, isn't it?
Michelle wrote: "83% I had to take a break from the emotional abuse afflicted on me by this book."Aw, Michelle! I'm thrilled it's having that kind of affect. Hope you dig the end.
Tyler wrote: "Megan wrote: "Tyler wrote: That's really cool! Joe Hill is one of my favorite writers. Congratulations on the sobriety, Megan! That's a battle not everyone wins, so that is truly something to be ..."
It helps you appreciate the little things, even as small as just feeling well, not sick from withdrawal, not scared, not stressed, and especially not broke. It brings a new level of happiness to life that I'm not sure I had before the experience. I'm grateful for having gone through it all for every single one of these reasons and more.
I have the day off today, so my journey into the world you've created for us begins!
Tyler wrote: "Michelle wrote: "83% I had to take a break from the emotional abuse afflicted on me by this book."Aw, Michelle! I'm thrilled it's having that kind of affect. Hope you dig the end."
All done! I loved everything about it, Tyler. Especially (view spoiler)
I can't wait to read your other works. I'll post a review later.
Page 23, so far there's been a very clear picture painted in my mind's eye. (view spoiler) but what's great about it, is you create this image without spending 3 pages descibing it too intricately. I find when authors do this, there's so much information about the scene that it's hard to remember it all and see a clear picture. You did a great job walking that liine.
Megan wrote: "Tyler wrote: "Megan wrote: "Tyler wrote: That's really cool! Joe Hill is one of my favorite writers. Congratulations on the sobriety, Megan! That's a battle not everyone wins, so that is truly so..."
So well said, Megan. This book may mean more to you because of your experiences. I hope it does.
I'm excited to see what you think as you dive in!
Michelle wrote: "Tyler wrote: "Michelle wrote: "83% I had to take a break from the emotional abuse afflicted on me by this book."Aw, Michelle! I'm thrilled it's having that kind of affect. Hope you dig the end."
..."
Thank you, Michelle! That means a lot to me. I'm overjoyed you liked it. If you choose to check out THE DARK SIDE OF THE ROOM, I like to think of it as the darker b-side to CRITERIUM. And there are some things in that book that might give you the heebies jeebies as well.
I'm all about darker B-sides. I'll check it out.
Megan wrote: "Page 23, so far there's been a very clear picture painted in my mind's eye. [spoilers removed] but what's great about it, is you create this image without spending 3 pages descibing it too intricat..."Thanks Megan! That's a pet peeve of mine too. It seems that too much description can sometimes have the opposite effect. It can make the mind work really hard to try and conjure the "exact" details of what the author is laying out, rather than allowing the reader to fill in some of those details on their own. If the world is reader conjured, I tend to feel more investment in it.
Tyler wrote: "Megan wrote: "Page 23, so far there's been a very clear picture painted in my mind's eye. [spoilers removed] but what's great about it, is you create this image without spending 3 pages describing i..."That's the perfect way to describe it, "reader conjured".
I'm on page 57 now, and I have to say, this hits some important, even powerful points on addiction. (view spoiler)
I finished the book this evening and I very much enjoyed it. (view spoiler) All in all a wonderful story, that helped remind why I've struggled so hard to get where I am today. I look forward to reading The Dark Side of the Room. I'd love to know your inspiration for this, how you came up with the story, the character Zach, and especially the ending.
Michelle wrote: "My review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
Thank you so much for this, Michelle. I'm so glad you enjoyed the book, and thankful you took the time to write a review. Much appreciated!
Now I've got to figure out how to do that fancy "hide the spoiler" thing.
Megan wrote: "I finished the book this evening and I very much enjoyed it. [spoilers removed] All in all a wonderful story, that helped remind why I've struggled so hard to get where I am today. I look forward t..."Megan, I'm so glad the book resonated with you, and I truly appreciate all your thoughts regarding the Zach and his struggle.
I'll dig more into the inspiration etc. in the coming weeks, and once I've figured out how to hide spoilers. But for now, here is an interview I did with LitReactor where I talk a bit about the book.
https://litreactor.com/interviews/tyl...
You use HTML basically < spoiler > < /spoiler > but without the spaces between the < and the word. Thanks so much for the interview I will dive into that and look forward to getting more details from you in the coming weeks once we have some more readers. I also did a short review of the book, but nothing I didn't already say here. It's on my goodreads profile as well as amazon.
Im actually about to dive in to the Dark Side of the Room. I usually go for longer books but I actually enjoyed the satisfaction of the quicker story. Anyways, thanks for sharing your world with us!
Megan wrote: "You use HTML basically but without the spaces between the < and the word. Thanks so much for the interview I will dive into that and look forward to getting more details from you in the coming ..."
Thanks for the info on how to hide spoilers! I'm so glad the ending worked for you. (view spoiler)
Thank you so much for the review, and I hope you enjoy THE DARK SIDE OF THE ROOM. It's a very different book, written as a Halloween treat to give people the heebie jeebies. So it doesn't have quite the same emotional resonance, but I sure had a lot of fun writing it!
Like I said, I think of it as the darker b-side to CRITERIUM. It's the story of someone living just across town from Zach Ayers, and it takes place not long before Zach's dad dies. That isn't clear in the book, but it's what I was thinking.
Megan wrote: "[spoilers removed]"And it's a useful kind of fear, isn't it? Time isn't something we can fight against, and any attempts to do so only waste whatever Time we actually have. So to be afraid of it is healthy, so long as it motivates us to love, create, and be present in the Now.
Montzalee wrote: "I finished it! Thanks for making it in ku!https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
Montzalee, thank you so much for reading the book, and I appreciate your thoughts!
Very well said, you're absolutely right. You're not truly living if you're worried about how much life you have to live. I was pretty impulsive in my younger years, and while I've eased up for obvious reasons, I've tried to keep a little impulsivity . I like where it can take me when used in moderation.
I've never been addicted to anything but cigarettes and I quit after eleven years. I know addicts addicted to drugs and alcohol though who can't quit (and don't want to quit) and some in my past who died leaving behind permanent financial ruin and ruined families who lost the future for themselves too, because the addict destroyed the family's credit and ability to get good jobs\housing\bank loans. College possibility for kids died because of the addict. Permanent generational wreckage. I guess some think it is "personalities" \genes(?) a cause? But I know it is a REAL horrowshow to everyone involved with the addict.
aPriL does feral sometimes wrote: "I've never been addicted to anything but cigarettes and I quit after eleven years. I know addicts addicted to drugs and alcohol though who can't quit (and don't want to quit) and some in my past wh..."First of all, thank you so much for reading the book. Secondly, you raise an excellent point: there are so many different kinds of addiction, and so many ways to destroy a family.
There is so much demanding our attention, so many temptations, that we have to be active and vigilant in making sure we continue becoming the people we want to be. I'm not so sure there's such a thing as standing still, or staying the same. I think everything we do is either moving us forward, or backward.
And maybe the act of "building a better me" is never finished, and as long as we keep working at it, we avoid becoming another story of a life derailed by addiction, in whatever form it might take for us.
Megan wrote: "Very well said, you're absolutely right. You're not truly living if you're worried about how much life you have to live. I was pretty impulsive in my younger years, and while I've eased up for obvi..."Haha! Yeah, being impulsive and spontaneous can lead to some beautiful places. And yes, moderation in all things, always.
@aPriL does feral sometimesIt can be a number if things. If you have addiction in your family, you are much more prone to it, but its not only hereditary, its complicated with a number of factors. It's really sad to see the aftermath of an addiction that's spun out of control and resulted in death. Addiction is absolutely a family-wide affliction that has a large impact on everyone touched by it. Cigarettes aren't easy to quit, but they don't come close to the real deal. I used to smoke those as well and quit about 6 months after I got clean. Congrats on quitting though, I don't mean to lessen that by any means, it's absolutely hard. I'm just trying to share how much more difficult it can be.
message 44:
by
aPriL does feral sometimes
(last edited Jan 05, 2021 12:18AM)
(new)
-
rated it 4 stars
Megan, you totally are awesome! I know getting clean from harder drugs than nicotine is more difficult. I tried three times to quit Kools, and gave up twice - and felt such a failure from still being addicted to nicotine, and SO good when I finally did it.I also know physical damage doesn't go away from long-term 'indulging' (such a benign word). People always think a couple of times won't hurt, and that often is true, but then there are those that can't stop 'indulging'.
For example, we noticed an alcoholic relative was mentally deteriorating - speech, memory, etc. When she had a stroke in her brain, the doctor asked the family if she drank. Apparently, when he opened her skull, her brain reeked of alcohol - beer - and she had gaps between her brain structures. Long-term alcoholism caused shrinking of brain matter. She lost brain cells, had brain damage.
My husband now has COPD from smoking from 40 years and a heart with two stents. A former employee of a fast-food restaurant managed by my husband lost most of her teeth from meth, and she is exhibiting permanent mental difficulties of some sort. She got fired. A thirty-year-old guy I was trying to teach how to read as a volunteer for a NGO kept losing weight and was stuck on lesson one from not being able to remember our previous lessons - we repeated it seven times before he stopped coming. He was an alcoholic. A college friend who worked at a hospital as a security guard told us he quit after a totally violent man was brought in. He was high on PCP, It took six men to hold him from his violence. Cocaine caused another college friend to end up begging for money in front of store, where I unexpectedly saw him. He was rank smelling, shabby, with sores, and no degree or wife and toddlers anymore. I was talking to my neighbor who was high on opioids for her back - she fell asleep mid-sentence, and angrily denied she had been momentarily unconscious when I grabbed her from falling down onto the ground. She yelled at me for "lying". At college, people fell down stairs, crashed cars, fell asleep while you talked to them, walked through glass doors, etc. while high, laughing, unaware they were bleeding to death from injuries or had broken bones. I don't know what they were on specifically, but you could smell some drugs. Then there were the ones having psychotic breaks, completely unaware it happened when they sobered up.
None of them seemed to realize the seriousness of the damage to themselves or others. Denial was a BIG problem.
Addiction certainly doesn't stop at losing your family and money and job. People can lose their brain matter and other body organs, limb function, muscle strength, later in life, Permanently.
I live in a senior park and see the results of stuff people thought they recovered from forty years ago. It makes being sixty or seventy years old really awful - no golden years or travel or hobbies possible, in constant need of health care, maybe terrible dementia ruling their lives.
People really need to wake up and face up to their addictions.
aPriL does feral sometimes wrote: "Megan, you totally are awesome! I know getting clean from harder drugs than nicotine is more difficult. I tried three times to quit Kools, and gave up twice - and felt such a failure from still bei..."You are absolutely right, for many addicts the fear of losing their addiction is almost greater than the fear of whatever destruction may come as a result of it. And let's not limit addiction to drugs alone. Although they may be the most destructive, you could add social media, porn, exercise, and eating to that list. Anything that steals time away from the ones you love, leaves you hollowed out and empty after indulging, causes you to neglect responsibilities, and is selfishly motivated.
To me, the bigger question in all of this is: what inner pain is the addict trying to medicate? Why is being alive so painful that the only way to make it through a day is to blast your brain with some kind of substance? It seems that most addicts have one thing in common--there's a festering wound deep inside that they haven't faced.
Carl Jung wrote "Until we make the unconscious conscious, it will direct our lives and we will call it fate."
Until we face ourselves with honesty and deal with the hurt, the pain, the abuse, the abandonment, the loss...whatever it is...until those things are resolved the addict is merely treating the symptoms of a terminal disease.
One last thing...I've found that many addicts cannot simply stop their habit. They often need a helping hand, someone who loves them in spite of their failure and hurt. Someone who can walk with them, keep them accountable, someone the addict can be honest with. That's why the character of Henry Thayer is in the book. He's almost a "sponsor" in a way. When the pain is so big that we'd do anything to make it go away, we all need someone to remind us life is worth living
https://www.amazon.com/Criterium-Tyle...