Kindra M. Austin’s neo-noir novella, The Killing Holiday, is filled with sex, cigarettes, and whiskey, leaving the reader wanting more.
“Austin’s dark, disquieting ability to provoke unease, is the exact right tempo for an addictive noir novella. You’ll be looking over your shoulder for weeks afterward… think you know psychological thrillers? Think again.”
-Candice Louisa Daquin
“The Killing Holiday digs beneath the human psyche and begs the question, what will you do for love? Or better yet, what are you willing to do for revenge? The dark and honest truth comes out in Austin’s characters, who become more animalistic and primal as the story progresses. The reader is forced to confront their own despicable and basest aspect of humanity: we are all killers. Killers of the spirit, of the heart and of course, the body”
—Rhiannon Marie, author of SHIFT
“The Killing Holiday will have you hooked, unable to put it down until the whole story unravels itself. Like an epic poet of old, Austin plunges in media res straight to the heart of the tale. . . The Killing Holiday is a must-read masterfully told tale by a novelist with the soul of a poet, who leaves us wondering how much of herself was left in the ink on the page.”
—John Leys, author of Whispers of a One-Eyed Raven
“In The Killing Holiday, author Kindra M. Austin thrusts readers into a world that is sexy, dangerous, and full of deceit. This is not just a tale about betrayal; this is a book that, at its core, is about love, and “love is madness.”
In a cast of femme fatales, dames, and anti-heroes, Austin smashes readers’ expectations and brings classic noir into the modern age. Her characters are a direct reflection of our society that invoke feelings of empathy and disgust. What started as a slow burn quickly turned into a fast-paced ride.
Moreover, this neo-noir novella taught me that dark fiction cannot, and will not, wait for permission to be literary vehicles of change. I personally appreciated how this book explores transgressive themes, like sexuality, to create a space of introspection for readers.”
—Grace R. Reynolds, author of Lady of The House
To purchase The Killing Holiday, click here.
Publication Date: October 20, 2021
ISBN-13: 978-1951724122
Eric Syrdal’s Pantheon is the novel told in free-verse that you never knew you needed to read. Epic in scope but always deeply rooted in its humanity, it defies genres and expectations.
“Pantheon is a thrilling philosophical journey exploring the depth and meaning for one passing through a metaphorical world of inner demons and dragons, goddesses of the soul, of warrior and poet. A journey that crosses boundaries of time, space, and perception. I am captured by the intimate revelations of this intuitive and sympathetic protagonist battling the dark ages of his subconscious moving instinctively forward into innerscape, relying upon and exalting the virtue goddesses that guide and deliver him from barbarity and trial by ordeal both physical and spiritually as he transports from one state of being to another, from one point of time to another.”
-Holly Rene Hunter
“Syrdal, a self-proclaimed romantic and sci-fi and fantasy enthusiast, does not disappoint: He deftly weaves a tale of adventure, his protagonists crossing paths with virtuous Goddesses, who coax them toward their destinies.
As I read the first section, I worried that Pantheon was a little too heavy on the usual themes of fantasy and fairy tale: Warhorses champing at the bit, armored fighters, swords at the ready, the proverbial dragon looming over the embattled heroic Poet. Despite this, I continued on and was glad I did, for Syrdal quickly demonstrates that his story stands apart from, and above, the typical. With Courage and the Queen of Hearts at his side, and Hope, Grace, Mercy, Karma, and Fate in the shadows, the Poet must make a pivotal decision. His choice at that critical moment is masterfully mirrored in the subsequent sections of the book, and I marveled time and again at the way Syrdal coherently connected his multiple story lines, the seams necessarily apparent but still flawless.
Pantheon finishes as epically as it began. All along, the Queen of Hearts and her sisters have artfully molded their heroes’ journeys, bringing them back to central truths about life and love. Should you read this book (and you should!), I trust that the imagery of that final section will be long lasting in your mind, along with a sense of awe at Syrdal’s beautifully written verse and sense of literary craftsmanship.”
-Mariah Voutilainen, (re)imagining the mundane
“There is nothing unoriginal about this novel, it’s just a gripping, incredible tour de force and explosive, emotive, classic that I believe will continue to take the indie market by storm. To try to describe it would take far too long, think Neil Gaiman on ecstasy and set on fire by starlight and you may be close.
If it is your desire to read something astoundingly original, from a writer who is not only a truly breathtaking author, deft with supernatural words and ideas, but a dreamer of worlds, who will blow any preconceived notions you have away and leave you shell-shocked by the sheer power of his mind, then I cannot recommend Eric Syrdal and his novel Pantheon more highly. ‘I built this beach / and the stars / and the moon… I turn back the wheels of heaven / and make time stop and rewind / over and over … Because I don’t know how to tell him / A machine had a wish.’”
-Candice Louisa Daquin, author of Pinch the Lock
To Purchase Pantheon, click here.
Publication Date: April 23, 2020
ISBN-13: 978-1732800083
Indie Blu(e) Publishing 