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NOTHING PEAK BLOG

28. Movie Review: Midsommar

7/19/2019

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Hey all! 
Recently I went to catch Midsommar in theaters, and let me tell you: that was some wild stuff. I was sold on seeing this movie the moment I saw articles surfacing that Hereditary director Ari Aster had a follow-up planned. I'm still not over Hereditary and I don't know if I will be. It's bold, harsh, and tense, and I love it. Midsommar gives us similar elements, served on a very different plate. 
Midsommar follows couple Dani and Christian as they join a group of friends on a trip to Sweden for a midsummer festival. With recent tragedy haunting Dani's mind, the events that follow in the village of Harga are nothing short of traumatic. Their rituals are custom, but certainly unconventional. And the brightly-lit film lends to its brashness, giving us little shadow to hide behind. 

One thing I loved about this film was the characterization of our main group of twenty-somethings, namely Dani's. Florence Pugh delivers a strong performance as the fragile, compassionate lead. Jack Reynor does a great job as the frustrating and curious Christian. Their individual interactions and reactions to all that goes on in this village are equally interesting and unique to their characters. And of course, we have at least one (looking at you, Will Poulter) annoying and disrespectful guy. 
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"Midsommar" poster from IMDb.com
But would a horror or suspense film be complete without one? Mostly, it's Aster's depiction of grief in this film that I am impressed by. The depictions in Hereditary are drawn from similar traumas (which may or may not have been intentional?), but they're drawn out by very different means. No demons haunt us in Midsommar; not literal ones, at least. Dani is doing her best to move past her grief and use this trip to Sweden as a way to enjoy herself and get away from everything that reminds her of what happened. But it slowly becomes harder than she expected. 

The music is another thing I loved about this film. Like that in The Witch, this score consisted of ritualistic chants and string-fueled orchestras. I thought that was haunting in itself, instilling dread in the audience early on. And accompanied with the visuals, where we do see folks playing music in the fields and dancing merrily, just the thought that danger lies in plain sight makes it all the more effective. 

What it might suffer from to some is originality; we've seen films about cults and rituals in far-off villages. We've seen questionable practices amongst off-the-grid groups on-screen (The Wicker Man, Cannibal Holocaust, The Green Inferno, The Ritual, etc.). But Aster's attention to detail and incorporation of lore and excellent, memorable visuals set this film apart from the others. Can you say: Bear in a Cage? 

I really enjoyed Midsommar. I wouldn't say it's better than Hereditary, but it's strange, it's brutal at times, and it's definitely in-your-face, for reasons I won't disclose due to spoilers. All I'll say is: body diversity! Inclusion! But through its violence and thick tension, it has some strangely uplifting moments that leave you thinking after the credits roll. I'm looking forward to seeing more from Ari Aster. I think he's proving himself to be one of the finest directors of recent years. 

Did you see Midsommar? What did you think? Let me know in the comments! 

- Ryan
Buy Haunt here. Preview my books here. Find me on social here. ​​​​​​​​
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27. Movie Review - Never Hike Alone

7/5/2019

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Hey All! 

After being away for travel reasons, I'm back! Hope you didn't miss me too much. And I'm sure that in the meantime, you all curled up with your copies of Haunt to hold yourselves over. 

I finally got my blu-ray copy of Never Hike Alone: A Friday the 13th Fan Film after donating to Womp Stomp Films' campaign to fund their fan packages for the film. I'd heard nothing but great things about their fan film, and while it is available to watch for free on YouTube, I waited until my physical copy came in, because, why would I make things simple for myself? 

Check out my review of Never Hike Alone below! 
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Loving the signed note from Womp Stomp Films! Great package. Feat. my increasingly-problematic steelbook collection in the background.
A love letter to the Friday the 13th franchise, Never Hike Alone delivers stunning cinematography, exciting action, and tons of callbacks to the classic films. Plus, we get a special guest appearance that I won't spoil for you here! 

The film follows adventurist Kyle McLeod (Andrew Leighty) as he takes a solo backpacking trip, recording periodically for his online followers. But he soon learns he's not alone when he stumbles upon the long-deserted Camp Crystal Lake.  

I will say I was pretty impressed by Leighty's performance. I expected him to be just another stubborn horror-movie-man, refusing to listen to
all the obvious signs of danger that throw themselves his way. But his background as an experienced hiker lends to his survival skills, as well as his responsiveness to scary situations. I thought that was perfect writing for a character with limited story. That's not to say that there are no cheesy moments; we often see him trip over things, and some of the interactions between him and the looming Jason Voorhees get pretty... campy (I'm so sorry, but that needed to be said). 

Now, Never Hike Alone is a simple movie. It's short, sweet, and gets to the point. It isn't a full-length feature film, after all. But everything it packs within its short 54 min runtime is everything one could hope for in a fan film. And it's clear that those behind the scenes are dedicated Friday the 13th fans. I'm glad a film like this has gained the traction that it has, and it only makes me more excited to check out the fan projects that follow in its footsteps. It's certainly better than a number of films from the original franchise! Never Hike Alone is fun, intense, and refreshing. It's certainly worth a watch. 

Have you seen Never Hike Alone? What did you think? What are some other horror fan films that I should check out? Leave a comment below. Let's discuss! 

- Ryan
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Buy Haunt here. Preview my books here. Find me on social here. ​​​​​​​
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26. Recap: Troupe429's First 'Trail Mix' of 2019

6/11/2019

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Hi All,

I'm so excited to write about this open stage event now that I have content for the blog. As nervous as I was, the first 'Trail Mix' event of the summer at Norwalk, CT's Troupe429 was a wild ride. So many amazing queer performers took to the stage. Poets, singers, dancers, comedians, and of course, drag. Can't go wrong! I can't stress enough how much I loved being able to go down to that bar for the first time. It's vibrant, welcoming, and inclusive, and I need to find a time to go back. 

I read two poems from my book, "Occasionally, the Moon," and "We Fear the Worst." I wanted to read some less-spooky pieces, given the atmosphere and energy that a beginning-of-Pride-Month event has. And I included two new poems, so if you were at the event, you got to hear some never-before-heard pieces of mine! It was definitely exciting to reveal those. That got me even more excited for what the future holds for my writing career. 

I'll include some pictures below, of me reading and attempting to pose with Troupe429's awesome backdrop. Thanks to my friends who provided them! Photo credits and a bonus video can be found at my Instagram page here. 
Thanks again to my friends Sienna Rose and Robin Fierce from Troupe429 for having me! Hit the links on their names to give them some social media love, and check out Troupe429's website here, for more info and to check out their plethora of upcoming events. Don't miss out! 

- Ryan 

Buy Haunt here. Preview my books here. Find me on social here. ​​​​​​​
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25. Event Announcement!

5/24/2019

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Hello all! 

I've kind of messed up my blog posting schedule, but I had something in the works that I was waiting to post, and now I'm able to post about it! I'm excited to announce that I'll be reading some poems at Troupe429 in Norwalk, CT for the open stage at their Trail Mix Thursdays on Thursday, June 6! I'm also excited to be included in this because it's one of the kick-off events for the venue's Pride Month celebrations. There are going to be some other amazing and talented people performing, so don't miss out! And a huge thank you to Troupe429, as well as our hosts for the night, Sienna Rose and Robin Fierce! 

I'll be reading a few from Haunt (some of the less-spooky ones, of course), as well as some new poems. Whatever I can cram into my time limit! Come celebrate pride with us! 

Check out some of the other performers--they're tagged in one of my recent Instagram posts, here. 
And check out some more of Troupe429's events here! Extra info about them below. 
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Troupe429: LGBTQ Bar & Performance Space
3 Wall Street | Norwalk | CT | 06850
Open every day for Happy Hour at 6PM!
Troupe429 is home to the most Smirnoff flavors in the world + N64 Mario Kart races + 29 disco balls!


Hope to see you there!
​
-Ryan

Buy Haunt here. Preview my books here. Find me on social here. ​​​​​​​
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24. My Most Anticipated Horror Movies for (the Rest of) 2019

5/8/2019

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Another late Nothing Peak blog post! What's wrong with me? I had some other poetry-related efforts to attend to, but I'm back, and in anticipation of the IT: Chapter Two trailer dropping this week, I thought I'd share some of the other upcoming horror movies in 2019 that I'm most excited for. 

In the Tall Grass (dir. Vincenzo Natali)

Another Stephen King adaptation, In the Tall Grass is a project that we haven't heard much of, aside from this teaser poster and one other still from the film. All we do know is that In the Tall Grass is a novella written by King and his son, Joe Hill, that was published in two parts through Esquire magazine, following a pair of siblings who hear some strange sounds in some--you guessed it--tall grass. With some great recent King adaptations still in the news, I'm hoping that this one isn't another The Dark Tower. Nevertheless, I'm stoked!
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Child's Play (dir. Lars Klevberg) 

I wouldn't say I'm a huge fan of anything Child's Play, and definitely not of some of the later installations in the franchise. But this is one series I'm interested in seeing a re-boot of, given that it's a new take on the story (AI as opposed to just a possessed doll), and that the cast is promising. And seeing Aubrey Plaza in a horror movie like this has me sold already. Plus, who can resist even the idea of Mark Hammil providing the voice of Chucky? 
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Ma (dir. Tate Taylor)

Horror movie + Octavia Spencer = Count Me In. 

The wackiness of the trailer paired with Octavia Spencer's casting has me impatiently waiting for the release of Ma. It looks absolutely bonkers, and I'm definitely excited for whatever this movie has to offer. And, Blumhouse has been killing the game (pun intended?) recently, what with Get Out and Halloween slaying the box office. Okay okay, I'll stop. 
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Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (dir. Andre Ovredal)

Even though nostalgia fuels a lot of my hype for this upcoming anthology hybrid, I'll say that Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark looks great. I'm hoping it doesn't end up overdoing it with the camp, considering the stories might not translate as seamlessly on the screen, but I'm more than willing to give it a shot. These books were super creepy to me when I read them as a kid. We'll see what we get this summer when the film is out!
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The Lighthouse (dir. Robert Eggers)

I'm a simple man: I hear that a project is driven by Robert Eggers, and I'm in. Anyone who knows me knows that The Witch is one of my favorite modern horror films; the tone that Eggers sets, and the tension that he achieves is astounding. If his mysterious upcoming film The Lighthouse is even close to what The Witch was, it's bound for success. 
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Midsommar (dir. Ari Aster)

As of the release of Hereditary, the same as above goes for director Ari Aster. Hereditary was an unrelenting work of madness, and one that hasn't left my mind since I first saw it. And the idea of Midsommar, even its bright cinematography, has me impatiently waiting to see what Aster has in store. I'm excited to see what he brings to the table in terms of cult-related horror stories. 
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Are you also looking forward to any of these upcoming films? Which ones, and why? Are there any that you're excited for that I didn't mention in this list? Let me know in the comments. I want to hear what you can't wait for! (note: all images in this blog post are from imdb.com)

Until next time!

-Ryan

Buy Haunt here. Preview my books here. Find me on social here. ​​​​​​​
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23. "Haunt" Fun Facts, part 2

4/18/2019

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National Poetry Month is going strong, and I still see posts about it from certain friends/social media outlets. That's so exciting! It gets me excited to see folks out there talking about poetry. So for my next blog post this month, I thought I'd continue my Haunt fun facts, as I've gotten some more topics and questions to address! 
  1. What inspires me to write? What do I do when I'm in a rut? For the most part, absorbing art in different forms inspires me. When I listen to music, watch movies, and read, ideas pop into my head. And sometimes, things just randomly come to me, when I'm working, or doing other things in my everyday routines or activities. When I'm going through a rut, or having some sort of writer's block, I either take a break or I change my writing utensil. Sometimes, just leaving the piece for a bit does the trick. It's best not to force it. But other times, I'll change my mode of writing. If I'm on a computer, I'll change to a pen and paper. Even if I'm writing with a pen, changing to a pencil might be the solution. 
  2. What do I think challenges me the most as a writer, and how do I overcome that? Where do I begin!? There are times when the idea of poetry being a tough form of writing to produce can be a heavy weight. I often hear "ah, poetry must be a hard sell." Yeah, no kidding--try genre-focused poetry! But it's the passion in it, and the freedom of self-publishing that I'm really grateful for. But the more poetry I read, the better I feel. There's so much talent out there, and it's so gratifying to see it out in the world. The biggest challenge, or, maybe just the part of the process I hate the most, is the editing stage. Writing poems (or short stories, etc.) is one thing, but editing them is a whole different game. 
  3. Which piece in Haunt is my personal favorite? Which piece do most readers tell me is their favorite? I have so many favorites. But I will say that the final poem in the book, "Melt," is definitely up there for me. It blends emotion and genre together in the exact way I'd wanted for this book. Plus, describing a creature like the one in "Melt" was a lot of fun. Some others I love to re-visit, especially when I read them aloud, are "Nothing Peak," "Follow the Goat-Man," and "Hum." I hear a lot of people say they love the interlude pieces, titled "I," "II," through "V," and some are hooked from the first two poems, "Depart," and "Haunt.' 
  4. What am I working on right now? Ha, I knew this was coming. I hear this a lot. I am working on my next book! I can't say when it'll be out, but I will say that it won't be horror, and I will say that the title will be Tempest. That's all I can tell you so far! Maybe other than the fact that, if you know me well, you might have already read/heard some of the poems that will be in this upcoming book. Hint: they've been published before! My author bio gives away where. :) 
So there you have it! More fun facts and discussions around my first book, Haunt. Available on Amazon! I hope you enjoyed reading these as much as I enjoyed writing them. Don't hesitate to ask me more questions for me to answer in future blog posts! Enjoy the rest of National Poetry Month. And also enjoy the rest of Earth Week! Plus, we've got National Park Week starting tomorrow. You'll have to check in on my social media to learn more! 

-Ryan

Buy Haunt here. Preview my books here. Find me on social here. ​​​​​​
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22. "Haunt" Fun Facts

4/3/2019

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I hope no one thought I wasn’t going to do something fun for National Poetry Month! For this month’s blog posts, I wanted to share some Haunt-related things, so here are some fun facts relating to my first book of poetry, which you should (shameless yet blunt self-promotion incoming) definitely check out if you haven’t already.
 
  1. Haunt was birthed as an independent study I took at college; I was able to choose a theme to my collection of work, and my professor believed in (and supported!) my love of horror. I wanted to bridge the gap between genre and literary work, two styles of writing that are often seen as clashing, or on different rungs of the writing ladder. So, thanks to SCSU and Vivian Shipley for the help! 
  2. I’ve been asked where I came up with the cover design for Haunt, and that’s an easy answer: PicMonkey! I even credited them in the book, rightfully so. Playing around for hours on end with different layers and backgrounds and fonts eventually became what we now have for the front and back covers. Now I use it all the time for work, and have designs in the works for the next collection of poems.
  3. “He Looked Like Me” from Haunt is inspired by that weird dark hole in YouTube you fall into after a late night clicking through the “similar videos” sidebar. You know, that one where you end up with videos on how to conjure ghosts in your bedroom. DIY poltergeists, woohoo! 
  4. Who took my author photos in the book and here on my website, you ask? Oh, that’s just Nathan. He’s ok. But seriously, we’ve been friends for a while now and he’s a pain in the ass but he’s a talented dude who makes awesome videos and sings for a band called Migrant. You should probably buy their album because it’s pretty sweet.
  5. Who wrote the blurb on the back of my book, you ask? What’s that—you didn’t ask that question because the writer is listed below the quote? Well I’ll tell you anyway: That’s Jess Rougeau, one of the first artists I’ve ever met who shares my love of horror. And she’s also one of my dearest friends. Her book of poems, Witch Doctor, is a must-read. And check out her website, ThisIsWitchDoctor.com! You won’t be disappointed. Her work is fabulous. 

I hope you enjoyed these behind-the-scenes glances at the making of Haunt. And anyone who knows me knows I’ll talk about this book for hours! Do you have any more questions I should answer, or ideas I should discuss in the next Nothing Peak blog post for National Poetry Month? Let me know in the comments!
 
-Ryan

Buy Haunt here. Preview my books here. Find me on social here. ​​​​​
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21. World Poetry Day

3/22/2019

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Hi All,

In honor of yesterday being World Poetry Day, I thought I'd share another one of my favorite poems from Haunt! Check it out below, as well as here, with another sample poem from the book. Thanks, as always, for supporting poets and poetry! It's so exciting when the internet is taken over with everyone sharing their love of poetry. Enjoy!
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- Ryan
​
Buy Haunt here. Preview my books here. Find me on social here. ​​​​​
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20. Con Re-Cap: Monster Mania 42

3/11/2019

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http://monstermania.net/
Hey all! 

Thanks for being patient with this blog entry--I attended Monster-Mania Con's 42nd show in Cherry Hill, NJ this past Saturday, and I wanted to share my experience with all you horror hounds and readers! 

Before I start, I'd like to thank everyone who participated in my Haunt anniversary giveaway. I'm so grateful that so many of you entered! Just about all of the winners have been contacted and some have even received their copies of the book. I appreciate all the support, as always, and a huge thanks for making the first year of Haunt such a great one. 

I've attended Monster-Mania for a few years now; these shows (along with the always awesome Connecticut HorrorFest) allow horror fans (and, sometimes, wrestling fans?) to meet their favorite icons of the genre. I've met Kyra Schon, Ally Sheedy, Tony Todd, Sean Astin, John Carpenter, Robert Englund, and more. So many of these folks have inspired me to do what I do, and getting the chance to meet them puts the icing on the cake! So when I learned that Christina Ricci, one of my favorites growing up, was going to be attending this year, I HAD to go. And so I did, with my Casper blu-ray in tow. 

The people I met at Monster-Mania 42 were: Danielle Harris, Christina Ricci, James Jude Courtney, Dylan McDermott, and Will Sandin. More guests were in attendance that weekend, including Dolph Lundgren, Meatloaf, Jibrail Nantambu, Nick Castle, Sandy Johnson, Mickey Yablans, Tommy Flanagan, CJ Graham, Kane, Phil Fondacaro, and Jen and Sylvia Soska. The heavy-hitter? The 4 main leads of The Craft, Neve Campbell, Fairuza Balk, Robin Tunney, and Rachel True, came to this convention for their first time together since 1996! I would definitely have loved to meet all of them, if I'd had more time. But it's great to see that the fanbase of the film is still stronger than ever, even with the amount of Scream fans that I'm sure made up a lot of the crowd for Campbell.

Starting from the beginning of the day, we'd checked out Ricci's line before anything else. She wasn't to arrive until 12, so her line wasn't crazy long yet. We decided to go to the main signing room and meet who we could until we headed back up to wait to meet her. Danielle Harris was first; I had her sign my blu-ray edition of Rob Zombie's Halloween, one of my favorites in the franchise. Harris was so sweet, and when she checked to see if she looked good in our picture together, I exclaimed, "Oh, we know you look good. We gotta make sure I do!" We shared a laugh. 

Next, we headed to Dylan McDermott's table, while the line was temporarily down to one person. Like Harris and Ricci, he seems to never age, and looks even better in person. Plus, he's a Connecticut native, so we chatted with him about that. I'd forgotten my American Horror Story: Murder House DVD, so I had him sign a headshot he had at his table. He was very nice, but I don't think I'd ever really expected him not to be. 

Christina Ricci's line had certainly increased by the time we went back up to her section. We waited about 2-3 hours for her, though, which was not nearly as bad as I'd anticipated. Robert Englund, who had been stationed in the same place at the convention a few years back, had a line that kept us waiting for nearly 6 hours. Call us crazy. Nope, that's it--no "but..." Just call us crazy, because that was crazy. Anyway, I noticed I was pretty much the only person to bring something Casper-related to have Ricci sign; even the woman at her table agreed. What can I say--I watched that movie a ton of times as a kid, along with the sequel, and maybe even Casper Meets Wendy a good amount of times. I told Ricci I loved her in Wes Craven's Cursed, by which she seemed taken aback. I don't blame her; it's not a great movie by any means. But I found it fun, and it was cool at the time to see her returning to campy horror. She was sweet and thanked me anyway. 

More after the jump--check out my gallery of photos from the event!
We continued on, heading to the Halloween/Dolph Lundgren/Meatloaf room. Yep, you heard that right. Meatloaf's was one of the longest lines at the con, and although I found it questionable, I still would have gotten him to sign something Rocky Horror-related if I had the opportunity. But we were there for our Halloween peeps. James Jude Courtney was having a blast, as it was his first appearance at an event like this on the east coast. He told us what it'd felt like to put the Myers mask on for the first time, which was a great to hear about. I also met Will Sandin, who played Michael Myers at age 6 in the Carpenter classic. He told me a bit about his short time on set and was pleasant to talk to. His signature was added to my Halloween DVD, which you can see in the gallery above. I also list the other signatures on the insert. 

Lastly, we hit the vendor tables to check out the cool merch. I bought a book by Brian Coscienski and Chris Pisano titled The Shattered Visage Lies, which looks like a great read. We shared information about our respective books, and they seemed excited about Haunt. I also geeked out at the Grey Matter Art table; I have two of their pieces in my room. Their art is always breathtaking.  Next to them was a table with art by Chris Gofalo of Quiltface Studios. The moment I saw his The Witch piece, I knew I had to have it. I look forward to framing and hanging it! 

Overall, the show was a success for me. The day ran smoothly, and I met everyone I really wanted to meet. I look forward to next time! Thanks again, Monster-Mania, for doing such a great job! 

Was anyone else at Monster-Mania? Who did you get to meet? Tell me in the comments! 

- Ryan

Buy Haunt here. Preview my books here. Find me on social here. ​​​​​
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19. "Haunt" Anniversary Giveaway

2/21/2019

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Hi All! 

I wanted to dedicate this week's blog post to my social media Haunt giveaway that is currently live! You have until March 1 to enter. Head to my Facebook and Instagram and find the giveaway post (image below). On Facebook, share the post with the hashtag #NothingPeak to enter, and on Instagram, re-post with the same hashtag. Easy! 2 winners from Facebook and 3 from Instagram will be announced on March 2. Thanks for all of your support in making the first year of Haunt a great one! More writing is in the works. Stay tuned. In the meantime, enter the giveaway for a free book! Links to my social media can be found on my Contact page here on the Nothing Peak site. 

-Ryan 

Buy Haunt here. Preview my books here. Find me on social here. ​​​​​
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Remember--you need to share/re-post the image on my social pages! Uploading it yourself and tagging me won't count. Good luck!
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