Darkhouse
by Karina HallePaperback, 323 pages
Published May 1st 2011 by Metal Blonde Books
ISBN: 9781461079859
There’s always been something a bit off about Perry Palomino. Though she’s been dealing with a quarter-life crisis and post-college syndrome like any other twenty-something, she’s still not what you would call “ordinary.” For one thing, there’s her past which she likes to pretend never happened, and then there’s the fact that she sees ghosts. Luckily for her, that all comes in handy when she stumbles across Dex Foray, an eccentric producer for an upcoming webcast on ghost hunters. Even though the show’s budget is non-existent and Dex himself is a maddening enigma, Perry is instantly drawn into a world that both threatens her life and seduces her with a sense of importance. Her uncle’s haunted lighthouse provides the perfect catalyst and backdrop for a mystery that unravels the threads of Perry’s fragile sanity and causes her to fall for a man, who, like the most dangerous of ghosts, may not be all that he seems.
Guest post by Karina Halle:
Why Book Bloggers are Awesome
Hey everyone. My name’s Karina Halle and I’m the author of Darkhouse and Red Fox, the first two books in the Experiment in Terror Series. This eight-part series centers on 22-year old Perry Palomino and her partner Dex Foray, a pair of amateur ghost hunters who discover that the only thing more challenging than dealing with the dead is dealing with each other.
Pithy blurb aside, I’m here today to talk about everyone’s favorite topic: Book Blogs! And mainly, why they are so damn awesome.
I’m no stranger to blogging. I started my personal blog, Anywhere But Here, in February 2006, as an experiment of sorts. My Media Law teacher in journalism school had encouraged us to explore it as the “next best thing” in the world of writing and journalism. Even though I’m notorious for never seeing projects through, my blog is still running to this day (though sadly neglected). That’s over five years of writing about everything from travel, to relationships, to photography, to fashion, to music and to whatever the hell it is now (aside from being sadly neglected). Having dabbled in all these genres, I have good authority to state that I’ve never seen such love and support as it I have in the book blogging community.
Sure, my personal blog, when it was just me bitching about my job(s) and stupid things I did, did draw a feeling of community and unity from other like-minded bloggers. And when I was travel blogging it was sort of the same deal. Then came the fashion side of things. Now, my blog was never “fashionista” enough to be a threat or even popular, so all the fashion bloggers I got to know were really sweet, kind people. But I would see it on other blogs, this impending wash of jealousy from bloggers who weren’t as big, didn’t get as many freebies and didn’t have as many hits as the more popular blogs did. You know, the “why does she get to design shoes for Urban Outfitters and I don’t”, “I’d get more freebies if I was that thin”, that sort of thing.
Music bloggers are even worse. For my day job I write for a well-known music blog (or two) and I can see how little support there is in that industry (in fact, I write for two competing sites). Though the smaller blogs are more likely to reach out and support each other, the bigger blogs are just as snarky as their hipster commentors. It’s all about the site visits, all about getting the latest scoop, about giving an album the fairest (or most scathing) review and getting the best access to concerts and festivals. I’ve even been swooped into that whole competitive mindset myself and it’s not a pretty place to be.
But book blogs…my, what a breath of fresh air! Now, being as I am not a book blogger and am just an impartial reader, I can’t say that book blogs don’t have behind the scenes catfights over ARC’s and who has more followers, because they might. But from what I have seen and heard, book bloggers, as a whole, have developed a delightful support system and online neighborhood. They read and recommend each other’s blogs, they partake in lively debates and discussions about books and reviews, they help each other out in locating copies of books or participate in book swaps. It’s wonderful, really. Maybe it’s because books are personal and subjective. Maybe because reading a book involves time, patience and commitment, so bloggers are less likely to get nasty about something that takes up so much of their time already. Maybe it’s because the book blogging genre is just becoming popular now, so we have yet to see what all the benefits of running a successful book blog would be. Maybe it will all change if certain blogs get press in the media or find ways to make a living off of it. You never know. But I sincerely hope not. As an author, your success relies entirely on unbiased yet kind word-of-mouth. If that were taken away and replaced with pettiness and immaturity, authors like myself would suffer, as would the readers who deserve a friendly place to come read up on the latest book and make friends with fellow bookmates.
So with that all said, what are your thoughts on the book blogging community?
Karina’s sadly neglected personal blog can be found here: http://www.ontheblogbandwagon.blogspot.com/
Karina’s not so neglected writing blog can be found here: http://www.experimentinterror.com/
Buy Darkhouse by Karina Halle: Amazon (Print) / Goodreads (epub) / Kindle
Look for my review of Darkhouse on July 23!
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