Lisa Binion Guest Post and Book Review

Lisa Binion

Publisher: Silver Tongue Press

Publication Date: February 2013

Genre: Horror/Novella

Synopsis:

“Mom died in her sleep last night.” Those are terrifying words for a child to wake up to. The beetle that falls off the stretcher and stares at her is only the beginning one of the strangest and most frightening times in Lori’s life. Death is not a pretty thing, especially not when the funeral is to be at the Lights Out Chapel and Crematorium.

Once she walks into the funeral parlor, she experiences things that no little girl should ever have to experience. No one is acting normal. No one can see what is going on. Is Lori the only one who sees the blood oozing from the pictures of Jesus on the cross? Doesn’t anyone else see the beetles? Is Lori hallucinating when she sees her mom sit up and hears her speak? There is absolutely nothing soft and tender about what happens to Lori.

From her overly morbid piano teacher to the creepy preacher and a father that just isn’t acting like himself, Lori is surrounded by people and things that hint of something bizarre. Once she leaves the Lights Out Chapel and Crematorium, things will go back to normal. Or will they?

Praise:

“Although Softly and Tenderly is a short read it gives enough information to know and understand what Lori is going through. But it does leave you at the end wondering if Lori was only imagining things or were they real? I would really love to see more of Lori story. I did enjoy Lori's story very much indeed but I would like to know if Lori was just imagining things or if maybe she has some kind of paranormal ability” – Nancy on Goodreads

“When most children are asked, "What are your biggest fears?" They will respond with a list that includes losing a parent. For Lori, that fear has come true. Not only has she lost her precious mother, she has entered a frightening world no one else can see. Is she hallucinating what she experiences at the Lights Out Funeral Chapel and Crematorium, or is she suffering from intense grief? Walk with Lori as she sees and feels the horrors she must face alone. Why is everyone else ignoring them? You might need the lights on for this one, but don't let that stop you from grabbing it. It is a great read. I loved it and am hoping the author has more she will be publishing. - Marianne on Amazon.

Lisa Binion is a writer, editor, and wife. She makes her home in the beautiful state of Kentucky. Her two children are now grown, but she has been blessed with two beautiful grandchildren, Tyler and Zoey. Her family also includes four dogs, four cats, and two goats.

As the Fiction Writing Editor for BellaOnline, she writes articles, reviews fiction books, and interviews fiction authors. She is also an editor for Silver Tongue Press and Edit 1st. In her spare time, she attempts to clean house and relax.

Lisa on BellaOnline
Lisa at Silvertongue Press
Manuscript Editing Service

Excerpt:

I’ll never forget that morning as long as I live.  Never.  Daddy crying for help as he ran down the stairs is what woke me out of a deep sleep.  “Call an ambulance!  Kathie is dead!” I heard him screaming.

Mommy?  Dead?  But I kissed her goodnight last night.  She smiled at me and told me how much she loved me.  Then she told me to come up after breakfast, and we would work a puzzle together.  She would never leave, not after making a play date with me.  She never lied.

I can’t remember exactly why, but Granny was living with us at that time.  Maybe it was because Mommy was sick.  Anyway, I had been sleeping downstairs with her instead of upstairs in my bedroom, which was right across from Mommy’s room.

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and walked out the bedroom door into the kitchen to see what was going on.  There was so much noise, so much commotion that I didn’t understand what was happening.  Maybe I had heard wrong.

But as soon as I walked into the living room, one of my brothers grabbed hold of me.  “Lori, stay here.”

“But I want to see what’s going on!  I heard Daddy say that Mommy’s dead!  I want to go see her.  He’s wrong!”  I pushed Matt away from me as hard as I could, but he held me tight.

“No, Lori.  He’s not wrong.  Mom died in her sleep last night.”  As I stared into his reddened eyes, he said, “You don’t need to see her.”

“I don’t believe you!  She promised to do a puzzle with me today, right after breakfast!  She wouldn’t lie to me!  She can’t be dead!”

Then I heard the sirens.  These men, wearing blue jackets and carrying a stretcher, knocked on the front door of our house.  Daddy directed them up the stairs.  Almost as soon as they went up, they came back down, but this time there was something on the stretcher.  Whatever it was had a white sheet covering it so completely that I couldn’t see what was under it. But the sheet was moving.  What it covered appeared to be struggling to get up!  I ran toward the stretcher, so I could help and yank the sheet back, but once again my brother stopped me.  This time he picked me up.

As I turned and watched the men carrying the stretcher away, this beetle fell off the sheet onto the floor.  One just like it had gotten caught in my hair last summer.  Mommy patiently made me sit still as she removed it. 

“It will be alright, sweetie.  We’ll take care of you,” Matt whispered in my ear.  I wrapped my arms around his neck.  I heard what he said, but my eyes were on the beetle that had stared back at me.  It walked across the carpet, stopped, and looked at me before it turned to go up the stairs.  It seemed to be trying to talk to me.

Purchase Link: Amazon  Kindle and Print

Softly and Tenderly Book Review

When most children are asked, "What are your biggest fears?" they will respond with a list that includes losing a parent. For Lori, her fear has become a reality. Not only has she lost her precious mother, she has entered a frightening world no one else can see. Is she hallucinating what she experiences at the Lights Out Funeral Chapel and Crematorium, or is she suffering from intense grief? Walk with Lori as she sees and feels the horrors she must face alone. Why is everyone else ignoring them?

The music lyrics interspersed throughout the story added a very eerie element. The lyrics and the preacher’s sermon sounded frightening and out of place to Lori. The gentle smiles of condolences from the adults speaking to her only confuse her more. She doesn’t understand where her mother has gone and how it can be a better place than with Lori.

Frightening events happen to Lori, but I don’t want to spoil the story for you. You might need the lights on for this one, but don't let that stop you from grabbing it. It is a great read. I loved it and am hoping the Lisa has more she will be publishing soon. I would rate this story 5 stars.

Here's a treat, a post by Lisa I'm sure you'll enjoy.

Why I Am Drawn to Horror Stories

Why am I drawn to read horror stories?  Why do I like to write stories that keep people on the edge of their seats wondering what is going to happen next?  Why do I enjoy reading or writing tales that will keep some people awake at night?

The answer may surprise you.  You might not even believe me, but it is true.  Horror stories relax me.  They calm me down.  Whether I’m upset over how life is going or whether I’m upset from something that has happened in the past, reading or writing about things that will scare others makes me feel better.  I wouldn’t like to be caught in any of the situations in horror stories that I read or write, but since it is only a story and not real, I know that I am safe.

Now I can’t read just any horror story.  I don’t feel I’m that hard to please as a reader, but I have read stories that I really didn’t like.  Some stories I read and wonder what the point of writing it was.  If the book is a struggle for me to read and bores me that terribly, how did the author feel when writing it?

The characters need to grab my attention and make me care about what happens to them.  The situation(s) they are put in may be far removed from reality, but the author makes me believe they could happen.  The story needs to either be full of action and fast-paced, or it needs to have an underlying current of creepiness that coats everything that is said.  And most important, the story has to have a plot and not be just a bunch of words randomly strung together.

When I’m into a horror story so deep that I can’t put it down, I get pure enjoyment out of what I read.  My house suffers, I have to remind myself to eat, and my animals have to remind me to feed them, but my mind takes me into the reality of the story.  I also notice the techniques the author uses to make the story creepy. 

Horror stories don’t scare me now, but when I was a young girl, they gave me nightmares and kept me up at night.  I remember when I read The Shining by Stephen King.  My bedroom was right next to the bathroom, and the scene with the dead lady in the bathtub made me scared to close my eyes at night out of fear that she would sneak into my room and get me.

If writing horror scared me, then I don’t think I could write it. Of course, it could help that I seldom dream at night, and I can’t remember the last nightmare I had.

My mom died when I was only eight years old.  I really thought that I was over her death, but when I wrote Softly and Tenderly, I cried.  The very first part of the story, except for the beetles, is based on the morning she was found dead by my dad.  The rest of it came straight from my warped imagination.  By the way, Lori’s story isn’t over yet.  Those beetles that keep reappearing have so much more in store for her.

Don't forget to enter the giveaway before you leave:  Click for giveaway.

Thanks for stopping by Lisa.