GtPGKogPYT4p61R1biicqBXsUzo" /> Google+ Book Review: Hungry Business: A Gothic Story about the Horrors of Dating by Maria DeBlassie + giveaway | I Smell Sheep

Monday, October 17, 2022

Book Review: Hungry Business: A Gothic Story about the Horrors of Dating by Maria DeBlassie + giveaway

Hungry Business: A Gothic Story about the Horrors of Dating
by Maria DeBlassie
October 12, 2020
Genre: horror, comedy
Publisher: Kitchen Witch Press
ASIN: B08L48MVHD
Number of pages: 20
Word Count: 4400
Dating. It’s hungry business.

Looking for love can be deadly...

A short story on the horrors of dating during a zombie apocalypse by bruja and award-winning writer and educator, Maria DeBlassie.
"Simple yet detailed, unique, and innovative. A brilliantly written little gem that is equal part creepy with the plague of walking dead and equal parts cozy with the hot chocolate and watching the neighbor's cat."

"Drawing parallels between the pitfalls of dating and dating in the zombie apocalypse, this short story packs a big world into a few pages."

"Just the right size to occupy your time while waiting. I hope you find the humor I found."
You know how it goes.

You go out, hoping to meet someone.

You wade through your fair share of brainless automatons, lifeless bodies, and ravenous undead, good at passing as human.

The more you go out, the less hope you feel and the colder your body gets.

But you keep at it.

All you need is one beating heart to match your own before yours stops pumping altogether.

How hard can it be to find one living, breathing human in a city full of bodies?

Dating.

It's hungry business.

CW: Assault


This is an excellent short story for the season! What is more frightening than zombies? Dating. LOL. Hungry Business is a quick, fun and thoughtful read. And it's written in the second person... which is weird at first but the story pulls you in and it feels natural.

If you are looking for a short and satisfying read, take a bite of Hungry Business. I love the idea of calling zombies Hungries. Check out the excerpt below!

4 "hungry" sheep





SharonS

Excerpt:
He said he’d love to have you for dinner—but you are careful.

A woman has to be careful. Never give them your address. Don’t drink too much. Be aware of your surroundings at all times. Carry grave dirt to throw at them if they get too forward. Be ready to run to the nearest safe space if needed. The good news is that the Hungries, while persistent, are dumb as fuck (brain rot, you know) and slower than the sickness overtaking their bodies. Unless, of course, they are well fed, which is rarely the case.

This one looks a little better, you think optimistically.

You sit across from each other at the dinner table. The white tablecloth is as smooth and unblemished as his collared shirt. He has dressed for the occasion, taking care to hide the evidence of his affliction as best he can (though truly there is only so much he can do with a missing ear and half a brain). Still, the tuxedo and carefully applied makeup are enough to create the illusion of pumping blood beneath his pallid, blush-stained cheeks—in the right light. Which is another reason why you chose this place. Candlelight can hide a multitude of sins.

His manners are studied and smooth, as if he has spent a lot of time practicing more human-like movements and behavior. You admire a man who makes that kind of effort. He watches you as much as you do him, as if he is trying to remember what it was like to be alive. When you reach for your wine glass, so does he—only his thick decaying fingers almost crush the stem, whereas your nimble live ones carefully bring the dark red liquid to your mouth. You try not to notice how he stares at your lips—stained now from the wine—wondering, perhaps, how you taste. As it turns out, he does get a taste of you. You’ve been surreptitiously picking at a hangnail on your pinky finger—that’s how scintillating the conversation is—when you looked down and realize it is your whole fingernail that has come off. You stare at it in horror, letting the truth of your situation sink in.

At least he has the decency to wait until you’ve left the table before grabbing your napkin and stuffing your bloodied nail in his mouth. A little color comes back into his face. He groans in ecstasy. Nice to know you could still have that effect on a man.

About the Author:
Maria DeBlassie, Ph.D. is a native New Mexican mestiza blogger, award-winning writer, and award-winning educator living in the Land of Enchantment. Her first book, Everyday Enchantments: Musings on Ordinary Magic and Daily Conjurings (Moon Books 2018), and her ongoing blog, Enchantment Learning and Living are about everyday magic, ordinary gothic, and the life of a kitchen witch. When she is not practicing her own brand of brujeria, she's reading, teaching, and writing about bodice rippers and things that go bump in the night. She is forever looking for magic in her life and somehow always finding more than she thought was there.

Find out more about Maria and conjuring everyday magic at https://mariadeblassie.com/

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Looking for love can be deadly...
A short story on the horrors of dating during a zombie apocalypse by bruja and award-winning writer and educator, Maria DeBlassie.

Hungry Business: A Gothic Story about the Horrors of Dating by Maria DeBlassie https://amzn.to/3x5GhFo

Spooktacular Giveaway
1 ebook copy of Hungry Business by Maria DeBlassie

1 comment:

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