MY BOOKS
The Stable House
The Stable House Book Summary
It’s 1995, and 11-year-old Heidi Williams has just settled into her new routine as a junior high student when her house catches on fire, leaving her homeless along with her parents and adopted brother, Danny. After the fire, Heidi’s father finds them a temporary house to live in while theirs is being rebuilt.
There she meets Dorothy and Stacey, two seventh grade girls who help her readjust to being away from her elderly neighbor and friend, Violet, and growing apart from Danny. Together, they take the bus to the mall, roam the neighborhood on Halloween, take on babysitting jobs, go to a school dance, and help Heidi pursue an older boy who might like her.
By the time she moves back home, Heidi is a little wiser and more grown up. The fire becomes the best thing that could have ever happened to her.
Notes
- I was inspired to write this book after going to an elderly neighbor’s estate sale and seeing her horse riding equipment for sale, never having realized that she had ridden horses as a kid. The neighbor, Violet, in the book is a blend of this neighbor and another elderly woman who lived near me growing up.
- I blended this subplot with my childhood fear of house fires along with the desire to write about growing up in the 90’s. Since I became a teenager in the late 90’s, I felt like my portrayal of pre-teen life would sound more authentic if it came from my era.
- If Heidi were real, she would be two years older than me. I did this to keep from getting too autobiographical. Because of this, I had to research the music, fashion, and other pop culture trends of that specific year so that it matched up with Heidi’s experience.
- Heidi’s homes are based on my neighborhood growing up. Like me, she’s not a cool kid, but because of her street-smart new friends, she gets to experience a taste of teen life, such as going to the mall, babysitting, and going to school dances.
- This book is for anyone who grew up reading Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume books or those who like to read about real kids in real situations.
- My hope is that this book prepares young girls for middle school life. I also help the 90’s setting resonates with them. I don’t know what middle school is like these days, but I’m sure it’s still no picnic.
Book excerpts
I didn’t see Danny come in or run towards me. He was just suddenly there, pulling me up by my arm so hard that I gasped. I felt his grip on my skin long after he let go. We ran down the steps where Mom met us, coughing. She was followed by a thick black cloud of smoke. I had never felt smoke that hot in my life. I tasted ash when I breathed in.
“Go! Get out!” she choked, waving us towards the front door. We ran out into the night in our pajamas.
“Run to Violet’s!” Mom called behind us.
***
I had heard this dog barking over the music earlier, but this was the first time I had seen him. He was a giant, brown Great Dane who was either annoyed or excited by everything that was going on. He made a beeline for the girls who had just stepped back onto the sidewalk. Ruby was the first of them to spot him coming at them and began to scream and run backwards. The rest of the group froze in place. The dog was barking like crazy as it charged at them. He circled Ruby once and then pounced on her. Ruby screamed and swatted at the dog with her bucket and then took off down the sidewalk.
“Ruby!” I screamed, “Don’t run!”
Buy it!
Saving Hascal’s Horrors
Saving Hascal’s Horrors Book Summary
Ten-year-old Mike Hascal loves horror movies. His family owns a horror-themed shop that his sister, Julie, inherited from their dad who died when Mike was only two. Before his death, the shop held a contest to see who could find and photograph a real live ghost. Two teenage boys went into some nearby woods looking to win this contest. One of the boys, Shawn Mackey, never made it out of the woods. Shawn’s father, a teacher at Mike’s school, then forced the Hascal family to close their shop to the public.
When Mike finds out about this, he and his friends, along with his new friend and horror movie lover, Freddy Nickerman, spend the summer planning a search for Shawn’s body in the now forbidden woods. Will Mike and his friends make it out and save the shop, or will the ghost of Shawn Mackey keep them from leaving too?
Notes
- This book started out as an adult novel about Mike’s sister, Julie, reluctantly taking over her father’s shop after he dies. This puts a strain on her relationship with her mom, who would rather she go to college. One day, when her mom is in a bind, she calls Julie up to watch her five-year-old brother, Mike, who is home sick from school. Julie agrees to bring Mike to the shop where they experience a number of catastrophes and ultimately grow close. Julie then reconciles with her mom and reunites with her high school sweetheart.
- The story fell flat after a few pages, and I scrapped it. Then, a few years later, I had a dream about a family of grave diggers who were hand-digging a bunch of graves in a rainstorm. When I woke up, I decided that I wanted to write a book about a family business and add a horror element to it. I remembered the story of Julie and her brother Mike and decided to skip ahead a few years, make Mike the main character, and add a mystery element to the story.
- This is my favorite book that I’ve ever written, and is my best reviewed book.
- Check out my interview on Bad Moon Rising where I answer horror/Halloween-themed questions and plug Saving Hascal’s Horrors.
Book excerpts
Mike couldn’t believe that Mr. Mackey’s secret tragedy was connected to his store, and no one had ever told him.
“Do you think he’d ever take it back?”
“Why would he? His son was never found, and he still blames your dad for it. I think it’s his way of making himself feel better about the accident. He thinks horror movies are evil or something.”
“That’s stupid. Most kids are more scared of him than they are of horror movies,” Mike said, “He shouldn’t blame my dad.”
“He thinks he’s protecting the kids,” Tim said, rolling his eyes.
“Well, if he is trying to save kids, why is he so mean to us? Everyone’s afraid of him. Even Jack.”
“I don’t know. I guess he’s just a cranky old man. Don’t take it personally. He’s had it rough. He has to stand on that playground everyday knowing that just over that fence, his son’s body is down there somewhere.”
“Then why doesn’t he teach at another school?”
“I don’t know, bud. Sometimes people just like to torture themselves.”
***
He was just a few steps from the top when he felt himself step on his laces. He tripped and fell forward onto his stomach. The hillside gave way, and he began to slide backwards. The water rushing down the hill created a muddy water slide, and Mike was sucked down, caking him in mud. He screamed, clawing at the ground. Twigs and leaves scratched his bare skin. He managed to flip onto his back just in time to see himself head straight for an opening in the ground where the white face of a pale, teenage boy was staring straight at him from inside.
“AHHHHH!” he cried out, and the face disappeared.
Mike dropped his flashlight just before he slid into the cave, falling down into the darkness below.
Buy it!
The Castle Park Kids
The Castle Park Kids book summary
Jamie and her family have just moved into their new house on a horseshoe-shaped street surrounding a playground. There is a lot to get used to at first. Her brother, Luke, has nightmares. Her sister, Becky, acts like a baby, and all three of them miss their grandparents whose house they had lived in until now. While Jamie’s dad is at work and her mom works from home, Jamie is in charge of her brother and sister for the summer.
At the playground, they are introduced to all of the neighborhood kids. Together, they teach each other their favorite games, make up new ones, go on many adventures, and end up having the best summer ever.
Notes
- I was in the middle of marketing Saving Hascal’s Horrors when a friend suggested to me that I write a book based around the summers we spent growing up and playing at our playground with all of the other neighborhood kids. That would be easy because I could base it at the playground, put all of the different types of kids in that space, and then build on the story from there.
- Jamie and her siblings are introduced to the neighborhood kids by playing a game on the sliding board which intrigues the other kids enough to ask if they can play too. From then on, each chapter is based around a new game that they made up, and all of them are games that we made up as kids. Their adventures including selling lemonade, buying ice cream from the ice cream man, playing in the woods, and venturing to the candy store without permission.
Book excerpts
I gasped. Michelle turned around as Kayla tagged her arm. Becky fell at Michelle’s feet. She wrapped her arms around Michelle’s legs to catch herself. Michelle fell forward onto her knees, and Becky bumped her mouth against Michelle’s shoe.
“Time!” I called, stopping the game.
“Sis, you all right?” Heather asked Michelle.
Michelle didn’t answer. She looked at Becky who was on her knees, staring at the ground.
“You okay?” I asked Becky.
She started to cry. I didn’t know if she really was hurt or just looking for attention. I sighed and looked away, waiting for her to start screaming her head off.
Luke ran over to us. He looked at her, pointed, and cried, “Beck, you’re bleeding!”
I looked up. Blood was trickling out of her mouth. She gasped. I glared at Luke for scaring her. He closed his mouth. Becky opened hers wider.
“Kayla, why are you such a little brat?” asked Michelle, slapping off the grass stuck to her knees.
“It was an accident!” Kayla insisted.
“Yeah right!” Michelle yelled, “You just wanted to win! It’s just a game!”
Kayla stood there looking guilty. I looked at Becky and noticed that one of her teeth was missing. I looked down, found a piece of white on the ground, and picked it up with my thumb and pointer finger. It was Becky’s tooth.
Buy it!
GUEST POSTS ON OTHER WEBSITES
Links will open in a new tab.
Rent.com
Halloween Decor Ideas That Would Make Tim Burton Proud
Posted: October 14, 2024
Books 4 Movies
How I Became an Indie Book Blogger
Posted: January 30, 2023
Cleaver Magazine
The Book of Atlantis Black: The Search for a Sister Gone Missing by Betsy Bonner Book Review
Posted: December 2, 2020
Mystery Book Worm Blog
Audiobooks are Legit Books to Me
Posted: September 21, 2020
Random Crafty Georgia Girl
Posted: May 18, 2020
Mother of Movies
A Boy’s Best Friend: A Breakdown of Psycho Movies I-IV
Posted: March 11, 2020
OK Whatever
Are Old American Girl Dolls Valuable?
Posted: January 29, 2020
The People Who Talk to Andy Warhol from Beyond the Grave
Posted: July 5, 2019
Easy to Retire – Living the Laptop Life
10 Crucial Blog Design Choices You Need to Pay Attention To
Posted: July 5, 2019
Listosaur
10 Quirky Authors in History
Website shut down in July 2019. Here is a PDF of the article.
Posted: April 25, 2019
10 Superhero Comics That Should Be Made into Movies
Posted: March 7, 2019
Support for Indie Authors
10 Ways to Still Be Productive on Days When You Don’t Feel Like Writing
Posted: April 5, 2019
ProWriting Aid
How Kid Reviewers Review Books
Posted: March 1, 2019
INTERVIEWS
VoyageOhio
Life & Work with Laura Smith of Pittsburgh
Posted: October 31, 2024
The Indie View
Laura’s Books and Blogs Interview
Posted: June 17, 2020
Shades of Tatiana
Posted: December 6, 2019
Interviews with Writers
Posted: November 18, 2019
GUEST POSTS ON OTHER BLOGS
Kinga Szumska
How to Find Inspiration for your Writing
Posted: July 7, 2023
Artie Carden
5 Kids Movies That Inspired Laura’s Books
Posted: September 10, 2022
According to Chren
Gaslighting: How to Spot This Toxic Behavior
Posted: January 28, 2022
Stand Corrected Editing
Why Money Shouldn’t Drive Your Writing Career
Posted: September 27, 2021
Deborah Zenha-Adams
Book Blogging Behind the Scenes
Posted: August 17, 2021
Janice Beetle Books
Guest Blogger Talks About Why She Writes For Children
Posted: April 12, 2021
Live Your Best Selfie
Posted: December 6, 2019
Sophia Patel
My Favorite Things About Halloween: A Mega Collaboration
Posted: October 27, 2019
Ak Lander
Posted: September 17, 2019
Do 5 Things a Day
5 Non-Self Help Books That You Should Read to Improve Your Outlook on Life
Posted: September 11, 2019
Hollybee Tells
5 Cheap and Easy to Make Indoor Halloween Decorations
Posted: August 23, 2019
Nyxie’s Nook
Posted: July 26, 2019
Rosalie Writes
Posted: May 28, 2019
A Woman’s Confidence
Posted: May 22, 2019
Elizabeth S. Craig
5 Mistakes to Watch Out For When Editing Your Blog Posts
Posted: February 11, 2019
Leonard Tillerman: Author
Continuity in Storytelling: How To Keep Facts Straight When Writing a Novel
Posted: December 8, 2018
Ari Meghlen: Official Author Website
Playing To Win: Writing, Odds, and the Academy Awards
Posted: March 7, 2017
The Book’s The Thing
From Dinosaurs to CreateSpace: My Self-Publishing History
Posted: February 26, 2016
MY WRITING GIGS
Horrorscreams Videovault
From July 2019 to January 2022, I was a volunteer movie and book reviewer for Horrorscreams Videovault, an independent horror website which features capsule reviews of various horror books and films. Check out my first ever review, The Mummy Rebirth (2019)!
Some of my favorite books and movies that I’ve reviewed for Horrorscreams Videovault:
The Elements of Horror Book Series
HubPages
I’ve been writing for HubPages since March 2014. With over 300,000 views from 200 articles, writing for HubPages has taught me what people like to read about, how to create a blog post, and how to maintain and update old articles. Check out my profile here!
LitPick
I started volunteering for LitPick as a student book review editor in 2017 after responding to a request for editors to edit student book reviews before they are posted to the site. Serving as a volunteer editor has helped me to better understand what kids look for in a good book. Most of the reviewers on this site are my target audience, and they have even reviewed my middle grade books.
From 2019-2020, I became a reviewer for LitPick as well, reviewing books ranging from middle grade to adult in multiple genres. You can find my profile and links to books I’ve reviewed here.
You can also read my author interview on their website here!
List25
In the fall of 2018, I began an internship with List 25, helping them to edit old posts while learning SEO, photo editing, and other skills to help boost article views. It was a very insightful two months which led to my name on the byline of several of their edited articles. Check them out here!
CREATIVE WRITING
Support for Indie Authors Short Story Contest Winner
“Three Sisters, Santa, and a Billboard”
Posted: February 23, 2019
