Book Recommendation: From Bat to Worse by Alexandra Christian

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[crossposted on social media] 

Do I have a book recommendation for you. The talented Alexandra Christian recently released a mystery (cozy horror?) set in a retirement home. From the cover: 

“George Waterman doesn't want to leave his lifelong home behind and move into the shishy-poo-poo retirement village at Shady Acres, but a busted hip and his daughters' insistence leaves him little choice.

Certain that life is about to become a dull routine of physical therapy and boredom, George finds his assumptions challenged his very first morning there. George is quickly pulled into the circle and the confidences of a ragtag group of elderly sleuths, ones who are sure that something shady is afoot at Shady Acres.

Though doubtful at first, George can't deny the mounting evidence that their lovely home is, in fact, run by vampires--vampires who are happy to use the old and forgotten residents to raise an undead army. George and his new friends--a quirky, hilarious cast of lovable characters--must find a way to stop the evil vampires from taking over the town, and along the way, 

George just might discover that being old doesn't have to be boring and that Shady Acres--despite the vampires--is a home worth defending.” 

Food and drink warning: any of you who knew me in high school/college know that I used to be called Lurch because I’d refuse to snarf or spit-take when someone did something funny. It became a game: who can get Beth to actually spit her drink out (or snarf it up her nose) by timing their hilarity to when I was drinking something? 

No one, that’s who. Instead, I’d lurch forward in laughter but shut my mouth tightly until I could safely swallow my drink. Hence, “Lurch.”

Until I read this book. I was drinking my morning coffee and read something so funny that I literally spit my drink out all over me, my favorite blanket, and sprayed the kindle. The blanket and me are washable and are just fine, as was the kindle, whose waterproofing came in handy that day. 

So high school/college friends: someone has finally done it. The challenge is over. No one could do it in the 80s or 90s, but Lexxie here nailed it decades later.

Anyway, go read this book and then if you like it, consider giving the author a nice review when you’re done. (And if you’re curious how I know this author, I met her at ConCarolinas a few years ago, picked up a book and enjoyed it, and I’ve been buying her books since.) 

Get yours:

Paperback/hardcover

Kindle edition (also on KU!)

Enjoy!

Time for a spooky story!

[crossposted from social media]

Okay my friends, gather round, because it’s storytime. The weirdest thing happened to Fred and me today, and we can’t explain it . . . yet.

To set the scene, we were both in the living room, which is in the back of the house. He was on his lunch break having a nap on the big couch, and I was sitting on the loveseat working on my laptop. 

The house was very quiet. Out of nowhere I heard an angry male voice coming from the front of the house, I thought from outside. It was sudden, sharp, and loud, but I could’t determine what was being said, only the manner in which it was being said. It sounded like someone about to get into a fight.

I thought “What is going on? Is our next door neighbor yelling? Is he okay?” 

I jumped off the couch and started down the hall, shouting “Fred! Do you hear that?” He woke up with a start and then said, “Yeah. Right behind you.” 

I dashed down to the front of the house to twitch the curtains and be nosy, and he followed me. 

Turns out, no curtain twitching was necessary. I followed the voice . . . straight into Fred’s office. Somewhere in there was the angry male voice. 

“Fred! It’s in here! What the --?”

He was hot on my heels into his office.

“What the hell?”

“It’s coming from your desk, Fred.” 

“ . . . What? How?”

On his desk was an older tablet that he was charging. He occasionally uses it to take photos or draw or listen to audiobooks, but he hadn’t used it in at least a few weeks. 

It had randomly decided to play an audiobook—one that he wasn’t even listening to—at top volume and in a dramatic scene where the main character is having a fight…

… and we don’t know why. 🤷‍♀️

There were no devices listening for a command to start playing the book. No one had been speaking to give a command. Had a command been given, that device was not connected to that system and would be incapcable of receiving said command. 

Additionally, the tablet had been sitting unused. Fred had not been listening to that book, because he’d finished the book weeks ago. The part that started up was in the middle of the book. 

Why it did all that, we have no idea.

It was the weirdest thing that’s happened in a while. Even Fred was a little weirded out, and that’s saying something.

So this one is up there in terms of creepy happenings, like the time I was home alone in Pittsburgh and Fred was in Ann Arbor and I was in bed upstairs when I heard a male voice downstairs in my kitchen. Grabbing my phone set to 911 and a big stick, I crept downstairs to confront an intruder . . . only to realize a radio in the kitchen above the sink had suddenly decided to turn itself on at midnight a few nights in a row.  (We eventually debunked that one. I had accidentally handled a button on the front that turned on an alarm that tuned to a radio station at midnight.)

Or (in the same house as above) that time we were in bed falling asleep and we heard a chime similar to a Tibetan meditation bowl in our bedroom—just one short, clear chime—except there were no bowls, there were no bells, and neither of our devices at the time had that particular sound on them as an option for alarms or alerts. We never did manage to debunk that one.)

So … maybe we’ll figure this one out, and maybe we won’t. Fred has a theory, but we want to know what you think?

Do you think it could be a haunting or something paranormal? Or do you think there’s a logical explanation? If the latter, what is your theory about how that tablet/audiobook did that? 

(Following links on this blog may result in my earning a small fee. As an Amazon associate I may earn from qualifying purchases.)