Christian Baines — Blog

Happy Wednesday Scribblers. I hope you’re having a great day and I hope you all had a safe and fun Halloween. Today I’m back with another book review for you. This week I’m back with another book from the Haunted Hearts Series today I share my thoughts on Geist Fleisch (find the book here) by Christian Baines (find him here). The Haunted Hearts series is a collection of ‘ownvoice’ authors who came together and created a collection of ghost stories for the Halloween Season.

The Blurb:

Drawn by promises of excitement and freedom, how could Callum resist Berlin?

It's the end of 1932 and the Weimar capital is the heartbeat of the gay world, where a man like him can find companionship and love, even in the shadow of looming political disaster.

Still, Callum feels unseen, until he discovers a place where the dead mix with the living, an organization devoted to studying the supernatural, and a man in each world that could capture his heart... or seal his fate.

Haunted Hearts – Everyone deserves a happy ever afterlife!

Haunted Hearts is an Own-Voices Paranormal Romance Series about love and the things that go boo in the night. Join us on our romantic journeys over ten books from some of your favorite authors! Be sure to read the entire series so you don’t miss a moment of falling in love, or sometimes falling into a happily ever after-life! Each book is a standalone but why not read them all? Everyone deserves the HEA!

My Review:

Historical Ghost(ish) Story… Yes Please

Christian Baines continues to impress with his take on a historical ghost story. I wasn’t sure how this book was going to work out since the tale is set in 1932 Germany during the rise of the Nazis. However, Baines is an incredible author, and I wasn’t disappointed. The story follows Callum (an English man now living in Berlin), who has a unique condition that leaves him feeling unseen. This condition isn’t his only societal concern. He is a gay man living in a time when being gay could have gotten him killed or put away, even in Berlin during the height of gay culture for that time in history. These factors make the storytelling that much more impressive since Baines tackles the subject with the right amount of realism and fantasy. Making for a fun read.

I really enjoyed this story finding that Baines really puts you in the perspective of the main character as he includes quite a bit of German, making not only our protagonist confused at times, but us the reader as well, which I found enjoyable. The secondary characters were all unique and felt grounded for the time. Another plus to Baines writing and crafting of the story.

This is not your typical ghost story; however, the book has all the dark fantasy elements you want for a creepy novel. Definitely give the book a read.

There are my thoughts on Geist Fleisch by Christian Baines. I hope you check out the book and give the series a look as well, there are eleven books to pick from (find them here) so I’m sure you’ll find something to enjoy. Well, until next time have a great week.

Last week I took the week off from blogging so I could finish working on the edits of my manuscript A New World – Conspiracy it is book two of my A New World series. A New World – Contact (the first book in the series click here) will come out at the end of the year or start of next year. My publisher will release the book in two parts with a short break in between releases. I will have more details on that when I get them.

This week I wanted to take time and focus on some amazing authors who I know and who’s books I think you should check out. I love sharing authors whom I adore so I hope you’ll take the time to check out each of them and see which of their works jump out at you. Let’s get started shall we.

First up, J.P. Jackson. J.P. has a love of demons, witches and shape shifters and it’s reflected in his work. His debut novel Daimonion is a dark urban fantasy I suggest you read with the lights on. The story isn’t a slaughter fest, but it is dark and a little intense in spots. Overall it’s well written and enjoyable. I liked the story quite a bit even if it did creep me out. This novel is brilliantly written and is not a romance novel (which I love).

When J.P. isn’t trying to scare you with his writing, he hybridizes African Violets, travels with his husband and likes to knit. I can only imagine what the patterns on his knitting are.

Find out more about J.P. Jackson here and here.

You can buy his books here.

Next up is Jeanne Marcella. Jeanne writes in the world of dark and light fantasy that explores fantastic quests and the grit of living. Her stories can be eccentric, but they are beautifully written and enjoyable. Her story Through Rain and Missing Mantaurs is an underrated and under-appreciated work of fiction. She takes everything you thought you knew about elves, humans, magic and minotaus and tosses them on their heels. Sadly, this book is unavailable right now, but I hope it comes back soon (hint hint Jeanne if you’re reading this). In the meantime she has another book The Phoenix Embryo (Seasons of the Phoenix Book1) which is out and I can assure it’s an amazing story cause I got to read parts of it when she was working on it.

Jeanne loves music, a wide mix of Classical and top 50s and 60s. She’s also into black and white movies when people knew how to tell a story without special effects.

Find out more about Jeanne Marcella here and here.

You can buy her books here.

Sebastian Carter is a new author I’ve got to know (his pen name is Seb L. Carter) he is the writer of The Stone (Lockstone #1) the book is a paranormal, urban fantasy adventure. Even though I haven’t read it yet (it’s on my list) the reviews have been amazing. I’ve enjoyed getting to know Sebastian more as he’s an amazing person. Who knows I might convince him to stop by and do a guest blog for my Scribble Pages.

You find out more about Sebastian Carter here.

You can buy his books here.

The next author I would like to highlight is Christian Baines another new author but getting to know him a bit more has been a joy. Christian describes himself as an awkward nerd turned slightly less awkward author. His book The Beast Without is high on my list of things to read mostly because it deals with werewolves and I think that’s pretty cool. This is an older book of his (it came out in 2013) but still I can’t wait to read it.

You can find out more about Christian here.

You can buy his books here.

SA Collins is the author of the Angle of Mercy Series. These books are not your typical story, they are high drama and high character driven stories. SA’s style of writing is to focus deep on his characters, which is every enjoyable. I’ve read Angels of Mercy – Diary of a Quarterback Part 1: King of Imperfections and it was an amazing story. I love ‘mother’ she is so much fun to read about, even if she’s slightly awful. I got to know the main character in such incredible way. I feel like he is a real person whom I’ve known my whole life. You need to read this story and series for yourself. Be warned it’s a long hall and there is a Part 2, but the ride is worth it.

When SA isn’t writing he runs WROTE PodCast with Jayne Lockwood and Vance Bastian

Find out more about SA Collins here.

Buy his books here.

Learn more about WROTE here.

Also, next week SA will be my Guest Blogger here on my Scribble Pages so be sure to check it out. I already know the topic and I can’t wait to read it.

To round out my merry band of authors this week I have fellow NineStar Press author Gillian St. Kevern. Gillian is also a vampire lover (although we write about them differently) and has her own series, Thorns and Fangs with the latest novel just released, Life After Humanity. Gillian is the only dedicated romance writer in this group (although I wouldn’t lump her in that category), because her writing is so much more than your typical romance. It’s definitely worth checking out.

A fun fact about Gillian is that she, like most of us, on this list, is an avid traveler which accounts for her rich writing. Another fun tidbit is Gillian is from New Zealand and I love everyone from New Zealand, well everyone I’ve met. I’m sure there is that one person.

Find out more about Gillian here.

Buy here books here.

Well that’s it for this week. I hope you check out each of these authors because they are talented and amazing people. We all write so differently, which is why I picked them, so you have a chance to find a new favorite author who tells different stories then I do.

Be sure leave a comment below and let me know what you think of these writers. If you’ve already read some of their works let me know what you think and what your favorite book of theirs is so I can add it to my reading list.

Until next time have a great week

The Blurb:

My Review:

Buy my books here. If you want a signed copy click here (signed copies only available in the United States for now).

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