Playing with Fire [Kindle Edition]

Chryse Wymer (Author, Editor), Coral Russell (Author), Brian Fatah Steele (Author), CAV Laster (Author), Nomar Knight (Author), Robynn Gabel (Author), Susan Evelyn (Author)

Book Description

2013 update - Ghost Hunter Series by Coral Russell

Devil of a Ghost Tour

Lynn and Lee Hoyt decide a local ghost tour would be a fun date night. In an abandoned hotel on the tour, a demon and his minions have been waiting for just the right couple to come along. Can the ghost hunters, Hector and Marcos, save them before it's too late?

Key to a Haunting

Allen has lost everything, when his father gives him a downtown building to renovate. Trouble is...it's haunted. He calls in the Paranormal Posse to help, but can Hector and Marcos learn the truth in time to finally put the dead to rest?

Amador Lockdown

Something has moved into the Amador Hotel and is wreaking havoc with anyone who tries to stay. Hector, Marcos, Bev, and Tony of the Paranormal Posse are called in to either debunk the stories or get rid of whatever is causing the problems. Hector's life is an uproar and while he tries to keep his professional and personal life separate, whatever is haunting the Amador Hotel has other plans.

Coming Soon - the final story in the Ghost Hunter Series - Possession

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Wrote these stories out of my love for all those paranormal shows! I hang out with the folks at the El Paso Ghost Tours. It's a lot of fun and a lot of inspiration!

From the Inside Flap

Editor's Bio: 
As an editor, Chryse Wymer primarily utlitizes Garner's Modern American Usage, Third Editionby Bryan A. Garner for questions of grammar and usage. Because Bryan A. Garner wrote theGrammar and Usage sections of The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Edition, she trusts Garner's to be in agreement with Chicago. However, she also references The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Edition. In addition, Ms. Wymer is part of a forum of professional editors, and utilizes their insight and experience. Chryse Wymer is a self-published and traditionally published author who has been involved in the writing community for over twenty years. She also believes that editing can be fun, as a great deal of discovery can happen during the process.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 352 KB
• Print Length: 184 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Alchemy of Scrawl (July 11, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005CDD4IK
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #393,101 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Gave me a couple shivers! July 15, 2011

By Denna Holm

Format:Kindle Edition

As with most anthologies, I found stories I loved in "Playing With Fire" and some I didn't care so much for. But even the ones that didn't grab and hold me spellbound were still good stories. Though I found most of these to be well written artistically, there were a few problems with editing--commas missing, awkward wording, details that could have used the hand of a good copy editor. Most places only caused a momentary blip in my reading, but would have been so much better without. Still, even with the blips, well worth the .99 cent price for my Kindle copy.

Lots of ghost stories in this anthology. If you are into ghosts and hauntings, then this is the book for you. Ghosts looking for revenge and ghosts that maybe are more than they first appear, like demons called up from hell and never sent back again. Not a place I wanted to be, other than under my covers with a flashlight on the screen. Add into this a couple of flesh-eating zombies, a DNA experiment mixing human and the stuff of nightmares, and you are Playing With Fire. No matter what type of horror you're attracted to there will be several here that will no doubt leave you spellbound.

I enjoyed this book, reading straight through in one sitting. The stories were great, nary a dull moment in any of them. Some I loved straight away, others took a little more time to get into - and a couple were just what the doctor ordered for making me shiver as I listened for bumps in the night. We all look for a little something different when it comes to horror. I want a story that will make me squirm while I read, usually with a blanket covering my toes so the boogeyman can't reach out and grab me.... My expectations were high going in and except for the odd editing issues I ran across here and there, I wasn't let down.

All in all, this is not a bad anthology. Two or three of the stories are first-rate by any horror standard. The rest will depend on what the reader is looking for in horror. Definitely had me biting my nails in a couple of places. I'm going to be on my best behavior around witches who perform black magic from now on, that's for sure. Read more ›

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Things That Make You Go Hmmmmm August 29, 2011

By ofgr8value

Format:Kindle Edition

I really enjoyed the majority of the short stories in this book. My first time really getting into the Horror/Ghost story genre and I am hooked! My favorite stories in this book were written by Corral Russell, Robyn Gabell, and Brian Steele. I could easily see these stories turned into a 2011 version of The Twighlight Zone or X-files. Key to a Haunting was my favorite because it was a love/ghost story. I'm always intrigued by death and loved ones needing closure in order to rest in peace. What a beautiful story! My second favorite was Widows of the Night because of the storyline of facing fear, and overcoming adversity and fear in order to protect self and others. I was not a huge fan of the opening story because it lacked "something"...so keep reading the book! it gets much better with each passing story. Enjoy!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Some great short horror/dark suspense stories March 2, 2012

By K. Sozaeva TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis from Goodreads: Scare easily? Are you often frightened out of your sleep? Does the mere mention of ghosts prickle your skin?

These seven authors' imaginations are fired up by the scariness of the unknown. Find a comfy spot, sit back and enjoy nine tales to tickle your taste for terror:

My Thoughts: Susan Evelyn - Best Served - a tale of revenge - justice or vengeance?
Robynn Gabel - Widows of the Night - will give you a whole new impression of spiders!
Nomar Knight - Bitten - a sort of zombish tale
CAV Laster - Playing with Fire - science fiction becomes science fact and the world changes irrevocably, thanks to scientists going too far.
Coral Russell - Devil of a Ghost Tour - see my review on the book's page on Goodreads here: [..]
Coral Russell -Key to a Haunting - see my review on the book's page on Goodreads here: [...]
Coral Russell -Amador Lockdown (excerpt) - ghosthunters get more than they bargained for; an awesome tale! And I don't just say that because I edited the final edition, either!
Brian Fatah Steele - Flawed - a house that brings the inhabitants a personalized madness - wonderful!!
Brian Fatah Steele - The Stuff Dreams Aren't Made Of
Chryse Wymer - This Dark Magic - a reporter gets mixed up with dark magic from a most unusual source - a wonderfully quirky twist to the end!
Chryse Wymer - Living with Murder (excerpt) - an interesting start to a story, set in the future, where technology allows you access to the memories of those lost, and a father seeks answers in the loss of his son....

Some really great stories here - fans of horror and dark suspense, ghost stories and the macabre should all find something to love. Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Loved this collection of horror stories August 26, 2011

By TabithaStr

Format:Kindle Edition

I really enjoyed reading this book. I liked that it was a collection of "short stories" that have been collected and added to one book. I loved the variety of stories and the different story-telling styles. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes short stories, ghost stories, and/or "old-style" horror tales - not the modern day grossed-out damsels-in-distress that has taken over the word "horror".

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Chilling, Thought Provoking Collection July 29, 2011

By Connie Suttle

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is an engaging, thought-provoking collection of horror stories, giving the reader a virtual smorgasbord of frightening characters and events. From a house that consumes its inhabitants to ghosts, zombies and black magic, this book has it all.

As with every collection I've read, I have my personal favorites. Two short stories in this collection I wouldn't mind reading as full-length novels, their plots and characters were so strong. Chryse Wymer's This Dark Magic and Cav Laster's Playing With Fire were fascinating tales and I would certainly read both in a lengthier version.

Widows of the Night, by Robynn Gabel, was enthralling and her young protagonist was pulling at my heartstrings from the beginning. This is a story told from an abused child's point of view, and it is a harrowing tale of salvation.

Best Served by Susan Evelyn spins a tale of revenge sought for the death of a friend and Bitten, by Nomar Knight may be any spurned husband's dream.

Key to a Haunting and Devil of a Ghost Tour by Coral Russell are both well-written and engaging tales of hauntings, demons and skeleton-bound closets. Her ghost hunters, Hector and Marcos, are appealing personalities, even though they are secondary characters in these short stories. They also inhabit the excerpt from Amador Lockdown, which left me wanting more.

Flawed and The Stuff Dreams Aren't Made Of by Brian Fatah Steele were stories of the variety that deliver twisted realities and tingling spines. Flawed explores the faults and failings in ordinary people, exacerbating them until the individuals are consumed. The Stuff Dreams Aren't Made Of delves into the things any one of us might do in exchange for brief glimpses of better times....

I enjoyed reading this collection, and look forward to future efforts by these authors. Read more ›