Hearth Fires (The Haunted)

Hearth Fires, a thrilling supernatural anthology by authors Bibiana Krall and Veronica Cline Barton, is just in time for the Halloween season. I love how each story takes place in several regions with a running Ouija Board theme, and there’s so much more to these six short stories.Culinary Coterie (Veronica Cline Barton): Ancestral secrets, legacies, and a special blend of herbs comes with a caveat when not headed, breeding frightful repercussions.The Window (Bibiana Krall): A beautiful ghost rises at Prickleberry Pond Plantation, a mystery as sinister as the owners of the property, beseeching release from her watery grave, a quest that may provoke the killer (s) to strike anew.Vintage Vibrations (Veronica Cline Barton): Allie, the owner of a secondhand boutique meets with Veda, an illustrious film star close to a hundred years old but she doesn’t appear so. Veda donates valuables to the shop at no cost but with a strange request − she receives all the buyer’s information and the items sell solely to Salem-born men. Soon, Allie realizes the evil in Veda’s objects when purchasers meet sinister ends.Dark Watchers (Bibiana Krall): When a man Emily hardly knows invites her to a group outing, her drink is spiked, and she believes she’s a sacrifice to devil worshipers when they don animal masks and strip naked. An ancient power (the Dark Watchers) that rescued her as a child, whispers again. Will the ancient power save her from this perverse group?Board Whispers (Veronica Cline Barton): Bria McEwen just took a nanny assignment at the Dunwood House, where the children believe in a make-believe place called Nevermore, and the parents are neglectful and belligerent. The children are closed mouth about a Ouija Board she’d stumbled on that tugged at her essence. After only a short period at the home, Bria wakes to an empty house with only the strange Ouija board left, circled by footprints. Does Nevermore truly exist?La Fee Vertie (Bibiana Krall): What price would you pay for greatness? Camille, lacking creativity and pressured to produce her next drawing, traipse the streets of Paris, stumbling upon a shop and its strange owner who gives her a potent drink that fires creativity. Locking herself away for days in her apartment, Camille paints passionately, producing twenty paintings. But when a note arrives from the strange shopkeeper, she’s shaken, angry, then stoic, accepting the price she must pay for greatness.Hearth Fires is the perfect book for an autumn evening by the hearth, accompanied with the author’s special concoctions at the end of the book −A Gemma’s Gin and St. Germain Martini or Blue Angel. Oh, dim the lights for a spellbinding read.

I loved every one of these six stories! It sounds cliché but my only regret was when the book was finished. Each story possessed a vibe unique from the others. Stories by the authors, Veronica Cline-Barton and Bibiana Krall, alternate, providing a stream of not only a different type of story but style. Old houses, cottages, and the outdoors all offer a different kind of fear. The common thread is a Ouija board, woven into the fabric of each tale.Veronica started the collection off with the spicy magic of Culinary Coterie. I've read mysteries or other books featuring food but this had a twist I certainly did not expect! A brand new way to think of a Kitchen Witch. Vintage Vibrations had the elements that drew me in right away: a vintage shop in Salem, a mysterious aged movie star, and power just waiting to be unleashed. I'll remember to be more cautious when searching for those estate sale treasures. The darker ambiance of Board Whisperers was menacing. Bria's tale is just the kind to be told on a wind-swept, cold night in the Highlands, a glass of whisky in hand.Bibiana's first story in the collection, The Window, chills the spine even more through the influence of real injustices that have long occurred, and still occur, in our world. The collision between a mundane day of work with the supernatural amped up the tension in a story already taut with the pushiness of a potentially abusive client accustomed to being "above the law." Dark Watchers vividly portrays the terror of an anticipated outing that was supposed to be fun going completely sideways incredibly fast. The ancient and the modern come full circle in this fast-paced story. Camille, the talented painter in La Fee Vert struggles with the pressures of expectations from others. The detrimental effects are heavy on Camille's creativity. Her desperation to resolve the problem produces the answer, but at quite a cost.Hearth Fires is a pleasantly spooky way to get in the spirit for the dark season ahead. I'm happy to see the "#1" after the title because that means there will be more!

If you're a fan of frightening tales with some depth to them, then Hearth Fires is for you! This twisted anthology of six stories by authors Bibiana Krall and Veronica Cline Barton is a treasure within a treasure. Not only will you get a good case of the chills from these haunting tales, but each one leaves the reader with more than a little something to think about. Each story is loosely connected by somehow using the image of a Ouija Board in them. This idea definitely adds to the interest aspect and kudos to both authors for their unique spins on a theme.While every story in this collection has merit, I did have my personal favorites. La Fee Vertie (Bibiana Krall) struck me for a number of reasons, most notably that the story speaks to the very real artistic struggle of creatives and the price they are all too often willing to pay in attaining greatness. Vintage Vibrations (Veronica Cline Barton) serves as an intriguing reminder that while revenge may be a dish best served cold, the still-warm version can be satisfying as well.I give high recommendations for this savvy collection of dark tales, paired with much anticipation for more in the Haunted Book Collection.

I was intrigued to discover that two of my favoured authors had collaborated and produced a short-story collection and couldn't wait to discover more – I was not disappointed.The stories share one central theme: the mysterious Ouija board with a nod to the troubled spirits that guide The Oracle – this was more than enough to ignite my curiosity and I was excited to delve further. This is a collection of uniquely crafted tales, imaginatively written that lure the reader further in as each word is devoured, then before you know it – BAM! – a twist you could never have imagined comes right out and grabs you – loved it!Each tale is special and together this is an exceptional, eclectic collection that will linger on in your mind long after you’ve read the last word. Bravo!

The six short stories that comprise ‘Hearth Fires’ are set respectively in Louisiana, Savannah, Salem, Big Sur, Scotland and Paris. Authors Bibiana Krall and Veronica Cline Barton have worked hard to give the reader an authentic and distinctive sense of time and place; however, what ultimately links the stories is the central motif of the Ouija board (either literal or metaphorical).‘Culinary Coterie’ takes place in “the town of Smoky Shoals, one-hundred-three miles southwest of nowhere”, where Sammy Atherton learns of a mysterious gastronomic heritage. In ‘The Window’ the sight of mist through the glass of an old building kicks off a ghostly adventure for tipsy Tabatha. In ‘Vintage Vibrations’ a purveyor of stylish second-hand goods gets an offer she should refuse, while in ‘Dark Watchers’ a childhood experience comes back to haunt the protagonist. ‘Board Whisperers’ takes us on the Scottish Whisky trail, while ‘La Fee Vert’ (which rounds off the collection) explores the dangers and limits of a painter’s obsession in the City of Lights.All good stuff, and each story is a quick read. Ideal for a quiet, spooky evening in “when the moon shines silver and bright.”Food plays a not-insignificant part in some of the tales, and the authors have included some recipes at the end of the book for those lucky people blessed with culinary skills. (Incidentally, I do not count myself among that group.)

This is a great collection of short stories by Bibiana Krall and Veronica Cline Barton.I really enjoyed these stories, ideal for this time of year when it's getting cold and dark early.Quite a range of tales, ranging from creepy grannies, things lurking in the shadows, to spells in salem, to a nanny in Scotland.Well written, wonderful settings from Savannah to Paris, highly recommend this collection, but leave a light on!