While following a philandering husband, the McAfee twins are mistaken for paparazzi, get accused of kidnapping, and get a glorified babysitting gig watching over an erratic singing phenom-- which soon dissolves into a high-stakes game of stolen identity and blackmail.

Best-selling horror novelist Clive Barker's 1987 film Hellraiser has become an undisputed horror classic, spawning a movie franchise that to date includes eight films. Exploring not only the cinematic interpretations of the Hellraiser mythos but also its intrusion into other artistic and cultural forms, this volume begins by identifying the unconventional sources of Barker's inspiration and following Barker from his pre-Hellraiser cinematic experience through the filming of the horror classic. It examines various themes (such as the undermining of the traditional family unit and the malleability of the flesh) found throughout the film series and the ways in which the representation of these themes changes from film to film. The religious aspects of the films are also discussed. Characters central to the franchise--and the mythos--are examined in detail.

This volume explores the complex horizon of landscapes in horror film culture to better understand the use that the genre makes of settings, locations, spaces, and places, be they physical, imagined, or altogether imaginary. In The Philosophy of Horror, Noël Carroll discusses the “geography” of horror as often situating the filmic genre in liminal spaces as a means to displace the narrative away from commonly accepted social structures: this use of space is meant to trigger the audience’s innate fear of the unknown. This notion recalls Freud’s theorization of the uncanny, as it is centered on recognizable locations outside of the Lacanian symbolic order. In some instances, a location may act as one of the describing characteristics of evil itself: In A Nightmare on Elm Street teenagers fall asleep only to be dragged from their bedrooms into Freddy Krueger’s labyrinthine lair, an inescapable boiler room that enhances Freddie’s powers and makes him invincible. In other scenarios, the action may take place in a distant, little-known country to isolate characters (Roth’s Hostel films), or as a way to mythicize the very origin of evil (Bava’s Black Sunday). Finally, anxieties related to the encroaching presence of technology in our lives may give rise to postmodern narratives of loneliness and disconnect at the crossing between virtual and real places: in Kurosawa’s Pulse, the internet acts as a gateway between the living and spirit worlds, creating an oneiric realm where the living vanish and ghosts move to replace them. This suggestive topic begs to be further investigated; this volume represents a crucial addition to the scholarship on horror film culture by adopting a transnational, comparative approach to the analysis of formal and narrative concerns specific to the genre by considering some of the most popular titles in horror film culture alongside lesser-known works for which this anthology represents the first piece of relevant scholarship.

When an independent activist and her office-temp-with-a-doctorate buddy embark on a quest for a chocolate bar (a bar that serves not alcohol, but chocolate – in all its deliciously decadent forms), they pick up a hitchhiking extraterrestrial who’s stopped on Earth to ask for directions. (I know, right?) They do their damnedest to help 'X' find the information she needs to get back home, all the while confronting everyday sexism (rather like bashing your head against a jellyfish) and committing assorted outrageous acts and everyday rebellions ...

What if there was an app that could cloak you in a cross-gendered hologram? And it had a voice modulation module? Women could present as men and get better-paying jobs. Men could present as women and get groped in the subway. Cool. "The characters are ... intelligent, witty, and adventurous. I enjoyed their dialogue and insights. ... This is a book I really recommend to any book club and to people who are interested in gender differences and gender discrimination." Mesca Elin, Psychochromatic Redemption “This book is brilliant. ... The premise is really intriguing ... The scene at the airport just had me laughing out loud." Katya, Goodreads

How is it that the girl with straight As ends up scrubbing floors for minimum wage, living in a room above Vera’s Hairstyling, in a god-forsaken town called Powassan? She didn't marry the wrong guy. She didn't have kids. She wasn't an immigrant, uprooted and transplanted. So what happened? Where are all the straight-A girls from high school? Why, how, have they ‘disappeared’? Marriage and kids is an inadequate answer because married-with-kids straight-A boys (of which, let’s acknowledge, there are fewer) are visible. Everywhere. Even the straight-B boys are out there. So what happens? This is what happens provides several answers as it traces this disappearance with a microscopic examination of one woman’s life. There are three voices juxtaposed throughout the novel: the fresh, impassioned protagonist speaking through her journal entries from the age of fifteen; the sarcastic, now-fifty protagonist commenting about the events of her life, occasionally speaking to her younger self; and the dispassionate narrator. The novel’s audience is primarily women-it will resonate most with older women, but it is younger women who most need to read it. Because this is what happens. "An incisive reflection on how social forces constrain women’s lives." Booklife/Publishers' Weekly "I find the writing style very appealing ... An interesting mix of a memoir and a philosophical work, together with some amazing poetry. ... This is what happens ranks in my top five of books ever read." Mesca Elin, Psychochromatic Redemption "Really enjoyed the novel. I like the use of a journal as the format to tell the story. ... The author gives the reader lots of food for thought. An intense novel." Pam FitzGerald “The self-analysis is astounding.” Claudine Leonhardt “A seriously powerful novel.” C. Osborne “This book is so amazing. I was so enthralled that I just kept reading ....” JB

First there was the pandemic, and people rushed to the north to spread the virus like rats leaving a plague ship. Then there were the rentals, because other people, eager to capitalize on the pandemic, rushed to develop every last bit of shoreline and turn it into five-star accommodations for the rats. Then, well, all hell broke loose. * CottageEscape.zyx: Satan Takes Over, sequel to TurboJetslams: Proof #29 of the Non-Existence of God, is a short and funny novel about 'cottage country' with a deep and serious message. A perfect (pre-)summer read that will make you laugh and think at the same time. “A hilarious take, based in reality. You know Jass has lived this life. It is way too familiar. I laugh ... as much as I cry ...” Jennifer Jilks, mymuskoka.blogspot.com