Welcome to the Horror Made stop on the 1 year anniversary blog tour celebrating the Paranormal Gothic Horror Novel:

STRUCK by Clarissa Johal.

“The shadows hadn’t been waiting. The shadows had been invited.”

Synopsis

The leading lady, Gwynneth, had just settled into her new home with her best friend after breaking up the the world’s biggest D-bag. (Think lying-cheating-filth, but add and extra layer of thievery-and-sadism to the mix). One night she discovers that one of her close friends has suddenly passed away and during her trip to pay her respects Gwynneth gets struck by lightening. Which sent her straight to the hospital. When she awakes she discovers she can see things other people cannot. And these dark things are threatening the ones she loves most. A mysterious man appears and offers her the ability to fight them off, but his price becomes more and more dangerous to pay.

Thoughts

This book grabbed my interest immediately and then whipped me through the rest of the story in about a day. And every-time I had to put it down some serious pouting happened. I really enjoyed the characters, from Gwyennth the painter in her the tie-dye underwear, to the blond body builder picking fights over her at the bar. All of the main characters were nicely fleshed out and the best kind of quirky. My favorite one, by far, was the pink-loving psychic-mortician Poppy.So much quirk in one awesome red-headed package. I’d love to read an enter book based just on her. But I digress. The horror aspect with the things in the dark and mysterious stranger are nicely paired with the budding love interest and a slow unraveling of our heroine’s sanity. One big thing I will say about this book, it makes me want to read more romance- and that’s saying something, because it’s not generally my favorite genre, but this one did it right.

Also, this book managed to cultivate a fear of dressing rooms for me, the same way IT did for my fear of clowns.

Favorite Quote

“Adorable, Gyynneth thought woefully, like a puppy. Or maybe one of those little gnomes you see in people’s gardens. “Thanks.” ”

Rating

I give this book 5 out of a possible 5 blood-spattered stars. If you are looking for some paranormal horror with a little romance and hallucinations thrown in for good measure this is worth the read.

Get it

Get your own copy of Struck by Clarissa Johal for $4.99 on by clicking HERE

Excerpt

for you ghoulish folks who need more convincing:

A bolt of blue-white lightning snaked from the sky and hit the ground in front of her. The thunderclap that shattered the air was deafening. Gwynneth slammed on her brakes and skidded. It was a slow skid, or it seemed to be. Spinning around and around in a circle, she felt like she was watching herself from afar. Time felt like it was slowing. Oddly enough, she found herself wondering if there would be white or red flowers on Hannah’s casket. Or maybe none at all.

Gwynneth’s face smacked against the steering wheel. Reality hit her along with the pain. She had forgotten to wear her seatbelt. She pressed her fingers lightly to her throbbing temple and winced. “Shit!” Thankfully, she was in one piece. Gwynneth opened the car door. Lightning lit the area and bathed her senses in a flash of blue-white. Icy rain hit her skin. Stupid! You left your jacket back at the funeral home. She ran around the car and checked all the tires. The back one was flat, and on top of that, her car was quite obviously stuck in a ditch. “Great.” She had no spare tire, she knew that for sure. She also had no idea which way led back to the retirement home. Her headlights cast a weak glow through the rain. Soaked to the skin and shivering, Gwynneth peered into the darkness. A muddy road meandered across saturated fields and off into nothingness.

She sloshed back to her car and quickly turned the engine off. She certainly didn’t need a dead battery on top of a flat tire. “Okay, Gwen,” she said aloud, “you need to figure out what to do.” Rain ran in rivulets down her face and her tie-dyed T-shirt stuck to her like a second skin. I’m a soggy, shivering rainbow. She started to walk and cursed the fact that her cell phone wasn’t charged. Seth was always bugging her about that. “Suck it up, Gwen. It rains in Oregon too.” The inky blackness was disconcerting. Lightning intermittently illuminated the area like the flash of a camera. A snapshot of a road to nowhere. Gwynneth hoped that she was at least walking in the right direction. Her teeth were chattering so hard she was in danger of biting her own tongue. Thunder rolled up her spine and along her scalp like probing fingers.

Her thoughts wandered back to Hannah. A diary. I wonder what she wrote about? She wouldn’t read it, of course, it was private. I’m sure she just wants me to throw it away so her children don’t either. A pang of loss sliced through the cold and Gwynneth shook it off. They had spent countless hours chatting and Hannah never mentioned a diary. She bit her lip. If she could only turn back time, Gwynneth would have told her how much their time together had meant. Hannah had always encouraged her to start painting again, but also understood why Gwynneth couldn’t.

A loud ‘crack’ sounded and an iridescent white light surrounded her. Two things registered: a searing pain that ripped down her back and the ground which seemed to be pulled away from her at an alarming speed.

* * * *
Blackness.

Pain shot through the back of Gwynneth’s head as she opened her eyes. Somebody was standing over her. She tried to focus on the face, but it hurt too much. A cool hand slid across her forehead. She opened her eyes again.

Pale, almost white eyes. High cheekbones, aquiline nose, and a well-shaped mouth. Long, white hair. Ageless. Beautiful, like a Michelangelo. All of those details registered with clarity before agony ripped through her body. She arched her back and cried out. The man murmured something into her ear which she couldn’t understand. She could feel the vibration of his voice and his breath on her neck as he gathered her in his arms. She opened her eyes and saw lightning fork to the ground silently behind him. She blacked out again.

About the Author

Clarissa Johal has worked as a veterinary assistant, zoo-keeper aide and vegetarian chef. Writing has always been her passion. When she’s not listening to the ghosts in her head, she’s dancing or taking photographs of gargoyles. She shares her life with her husband, two daughters and every stray animal that darkens the doorstep. One day, she expects that a wayward troll will wander into her yard, but that hasn’t happened yet.

*Member of the Author’s Guild

Coming May 19, 2015 from Permuted Press

VOICES, a paranormal psychological horror

STRUCK, a paranormal gothic horror

(2014) Musa Publishing

*Indie Book of the Day Award

*Nominated for the Preditors and Editors Readers Poll 2014

BETWEEN, a story of the paranormal

(2012) Musa Publishing

*Second place in the Preditors and Editors Readers Poll 2012

*Paranormal Reads gives BETWEEN 4 out of 5 Bats

PRADEE, a young adult fantasy