Steven Helmer Publications

The cold rain began to fall harder, washing what was left of Jill’s makeup from her face. Normally, the self-conscious 27-year-old blonde would be concerned about that but as she stopped running, both to catch her breath and to examine the slash on her arm that was gushing blood, it was the furthest thing from her mind. She knew she shouldn’t have stopped. Her life depended on her running or at least walking. However, her head was already starting to feel light, and she wasn’t going to get much further if she didn’t get the blood loss under control. Removing her jacket, which wasn’t doing anything to keep her warm anyway, she rolled it up and, with difficulty, wrapped it over the wound. Jill was about to begin running again when she heard the terrifying voice overtop the sound of the raindrops. “Marco!” Tears began to run down Jill’s face as she covered her mouth. Her legs were frozen, as though glued to the ground and an overwhelming urge to respond filled her body. Jill was only able...

Marybeth was the most popular girl at my high school. This was mostly because of genetics. Her mom was a former beauty pageant winner, and her father was an underwear model. Marybeth got the best of both of them, including her mom’s blonde hair and her father’s piercing blue eyes. This is why it shouldn’t be any big surprise she was also the frontrunner and eventual winner of every high school honor you could think of, homecoming queen, prom queen, class president and (more the result of perverted teachers than actual intelligence) valedictorian.  Her charmed life continued after graduation. After a year of following in her father’s footsteps and modeling underwear in multiple catalogs, she moved to Hollywood and had a semi-successful career in horror movies. She couldn’t act to save her life, but she didn’t really need to because she was willing to show her perfect chest at the drop of a hat. That perfect chest once again on display. Only this time, instead of being on the latest ...

Synopsis:  After years of caring for her now-deceased invalid mother, Eleanor Vance is all too happy to accept an invite by Dr. John Montague to investigate paranormal rumors at the secluded Hill House mansion. She quickly forms a friendship with Montague and the two other guests, an artist by the name of Theodora and the home's heir apparent, Luke Sanderson. However, as the house guests begin to experience supernatural phenomena, Eleanor's mental stability comes under question. Review:  I was in the mood to take a short break from murder mysteries and, after remembering I had seen this book at our local library, decided to check it out. Even though it was relatively short, it took me a bit longer to read than I was expecting it to and, I finally finished it early this morning. Ultimately, after a few hours of reflection, I have to say this book wound up being a pleasant surprise. I'm going to be honest, through the first hundred pages or so of this less-than-200-pag...

Synopsis: A compilation of "vampire-themed" stories from Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The book was edited by Robert Eighteen-Bisang and Martin H. Greenberg. Review: I went to the library Friday evening with the intention of checking out a couple more Hamish Macbeth books and was disappointed to learn someone had beat me to them. Figuring I still needed something to read, I decided to use it as an excuse to change things up a bit and wound up checking out this book. In addition to enjoying all Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, I am also a big fan of his Brigadier Gerard series. Up until this point, however, I had not taken the time to read this collection of short stories. After doing so, I find my opinion of it mixed. I'm going to first start out by saying the title of this book is very misleading. If you check this out thinking you are going to get a book full of traditional vampire stories, you are going to be very disappointed. The book...