Taylor's new friend Michael is not what he...it...appears to be.
It watched Taylor carefully and had been for the past six months he’d been coming to the cemetery. It did not become so sad when the other people who came, the ones that planted and tended flowers and were very old, left, but it became very sad when Taylor left it alone again in its’ cemetery. Why the handsome young man chosen to come here? What did he want? What was he looking for? It didn’t understand its’ feelings for the dark-haired young man who carried on conversations with the long-dead inhabitants of the ground it watched over. It wished it could talk to him, to answer some of the questions that he so often asked while sitting amongst the graves. Was he lonely? It was lonely. It wanted a friend. Always had been a long time to be alone. It hovered and waited. Taylor’s eyes snapped open with sharp hunger pains. How long had he been asleep? He would grab take-out and come back. The company here in the cemetery would be just as good as anywhere else and he could eat his meal in peace. Taylor rose stiffly from the ground and patted Hanson’s stone. “Rest easy, Hanson. I’ll be back shortly.” Taylor shook his head. “God, I am pathetic! The only friends I have are dead. I guess it doesn’t matter though,” Taylor whispered quietly, “at least you are my friends.” He wiped his eyes and went to his car. Deep underground, Hanson Blakely’s eyes snapped open…
Professional Reviews
From Shadows of The Night Magazine
Michael
By Andrea Dean Van Scoyoc
Horror - Sinisteria
ISBN: 0-9771003-9-1
Ephemera Bound Publishing
http://www.ephemera-bound.com
Loyal readers of this magazine will already be very familiar with
the work of Andrea Dean Van Scoyoc as she has graciously contributed
to every issue since we opened our doors. If you've enjoyed her work
so far, we now have a recommendation to make…
Think of every vampire or zombie tale you have encountered, then
prepare to be surprised. Michael is macabre journey into another
world. With intricate twists and turns, this dark tale will both
delight and shock lovers of the gothic, all the while enticing the
reader the find out more about Taylor's twisted relationship with
the mysterious Michael.
Taylor felt that his only friends were the dead resting in the
Land's Down Cemetery, but he never expected to meet a living person
there. Michael appeared seemingly out of nowhere, and there's one
other thing Taylor did not expect…Michael isn't exactly a living
person. Neither dead nor undead, Michael is something Taylor never
expected. He soon finds himself plunged into a terrifying unknown
world, held by the strange creature calling itself Michael.
Michael is a definite treat for those looking for something
different. This novel, in many ways, represents everything small and
independent presses are supposed to be about—readers looking for
something they have not already seen in twenty slightly different
incarnations. But people who normally stick to the bestsellers list
can also find something intriguing here as this brand of horror is
genuinely horrifying in the "what the hell" kind of way. You might
be repulsed or disgusted or even freaked out, but you still want to
know what happens between Taylor and Michael.
If you call yourself a horror fan, you have to check out this novel
and the author's previous novels The Two and A Man of Two Worlds.
This is not the kind of novel you like or dislike—it's the kind of
novel you experience, the kind that follows you around in flashes
the rest of your life.
Susan Sailors
Shadows Of The Night Magazine
http://www.lulu.com/content/446742
RAVENLOCHES ENTERTAINMENT BOOK REVIEW
MICHAEL
BY ANDREA DEAN VAN SCOYOC
2007
To say Andrea Dean Van Scoyoc’s writing is eclectic and amazing is an understatement. The anticipation for Michael made me giddy, akin to an anxiety attack as I moved toward her fan riddled and nearly sold out booth. The 2005 Preditors and Editors Horror of the Year winner, Andrea, does not fail to deliver a personal journey with characters of depth and dark beauty while baring their innocence which lives in all of us but most are afraid of what we’ll find.
Andrea Dean Van Scoyoc has matured into a dependable and exciting writer that her fans can count on to challenge them at every step with her explorations into the dark and mysterious realms that surround us and fill us all.
Michael introduces us to Taylor, a self-reliant if not self-assured young college student who has more deceased friends than alive. Taylor frequents a graveyard, at least a couple turns of the centuries old, in a quaint college town. A good student, Taylor is barely noticeable to the student body, unless you count the homophobic bullies on his Lacrosse Team or the common dregs of students who speak before they leap.
Taylor can’t understand why people would prefer to be mean to one another than get along for no other reason than they are all individuals with feelings that should be cared for. That’s why “true friends” are those he visits in the ancient graveyard. He develops a bond with the silent residents of Land’s Down Cemetery. He speaks to them, takes his free time among them and is most at peace when cradled in their silent embrace. In spite of his secret friendships, Taylor knows that he cannot expect more from the deceased residents. Still, he yearns for someone to care for him the way he does them.
Michael appears one day. Taylor takes an immediate liking to the man who appears lost in his own world. Taylor shows Michael kindness and then Michael is on his own way. Unbeknownst to one another, they share and obsession for each other, but for purely, or maybe not so purely, different reasons.
Michael wants to prove to Taylor that real love can exist – for all eternity. Taylor has barely loved, much less another man. Michael believes that love is special, no matter what form your partner takes. Taylor is caught by the surprising changes in his life and is taken on a trip into darkness that borders madness and unconditional love.
From the onset, Michael opens a familiar world that stretches your imagination and delves into those crevices of character, while slowly and carefully exposing our inner selves to view those delicate and tender aspects of self. Self-examination of what you “knew” to be true is a frequent test throughout the ghostly, gothic tale, Michael.
Michael makes you examine the uncomfortable realms of your own beliefs and values wonder if evil exists, does it reside in a familiar, monstrous form or in what you hold to be true?
Well Done Andrea! True Love Knows No Bounds.
Joey Cruz
RavenLoches Entertainment
www.ravenloches.com
Reviewed by Alma Kelly
1/7/2007
This sound's like a pretty interesting story not only cause Michael is my son's name but because it has to do with the paranormal.I'de like to buy this book ...if the writer of this read my comment email me so we can made arrangments for me to buy this book.
In the end they'll all be dancin'--all them ones that didn't die.... Dance with me in the shadows amidst the lightning and the thunder, and all that nu-cu-lar debris. See the big bang from the other side, and then open that cellar door. Go down into
