A Book Review From a Writer’s Perspective.

Confession – I bought this book because of Jason Segel. He played Marshal Eriksen on my favorite television show, How I Met Your Mother. (If you haven’t seen the show, check it out. It’s legend – wait for it – dary!) But this book has much more than his name on the cover.

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Charlie Laird has several problems.

1. His dad married a woman he is sure moonlights as a witch.
2. He had to move into her purple mansion—the creepiest place in Cypress Creek.
3. He can’t remember the last time sleeping wasn’t a nightmarish prospect. Like even a nap.

 What Charlie doesn’t know is that his problems are about to get a whole lot more real. Nightmares can ruin a good night’s sleep, but when they start slipping out of your dreams and into the waking world . . . well, that’s something only Charlie can face. And he’s going to need all the help he can get, or it might just be lights-out for Charlie Laird. For good.

I love creepy stories now, but as a kid, I knew a monster lived under my bed. And I had a stepmother. But those two were completely unrelated.

NIGHTMARES, written by talented authors, has an original and relatable plot, and a character full of fear, loneliness, anger, jealousy. Everything readers look for.

But what if you are a writer?

Writers read differently, even when reading for entertainment. Our brains dissect characters, dialogue, sentence structures, and plots. We apply everything we learned from conferences, critique partners, and craft books. When I read NIGHTMARES I tried to read like a kid, but found myself analyzing the characters and world building. And I was amazed!

Characters

Early in my writing career, I learned about QBCD (Quick Brief Character Description.) Unless it’s a main character, a QBCD is all you need to give the character purpose and backstory. For example:

I rushed to open the door, but the elderly man took it from me. His cropped hair, shirt buttoned to the neck, and spit-shined shoes told me insisting would be insulting.

Okay, did you get a retired military man? Oh I hope so! Let me give you a better QBCD. This is from NIGHTMARES:

“… a shadowy figure tiptoed inside. It was sleek and black, without eyes, mouth, or features. Its long, tendril-like fingers stroked the air.”

Think about what happens when the lights go out. I bet kids and adults (me again) are not afraid of a person lurking in the shadows, but that the darkness itself will reach out and smother you. With this quick brief character description, Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller make the dark come alive.

World Building

As a writer, I find world building as terrifying as a nightmare. To be plausible, the alternate world should be as detailed as the contemporary one with structure, organization, and policies. It can overwhelm the reader if introduced to early, but Segel and Miller studied their craft books because they mastered this skill.

The Netherworld, the world of nightmares, is introduced to us one piece at a time, and in such detail it allows our minds to paint frightening pictures. Each step through the forest, and every character we meet, provides a clue as to how this world exits, its relationship to the real world, and how humans are connected to it.

The authors don’t leave anything out. Every aspect of the Netherworld has a purpose. There are no subplots left dangling or characters left without a resolution, good or bad (bah ha ha!)

As a reader and a writer, NIGHTMARES, Segel, and Miller get twenty out of five stars. Is that possible? If you love creepy, this is a must read. But read it with the light on.

I am always looking for creepy stories. Please leave your favorites in the comments.

A third degree black belt in taekwondo, HALLI GOMEZ teaches martial arts and writes for children and young adults because those voices flow through her brain. She is published in Police Chief magazine and her regional SCBWI bulletin, and enjoys family, outdoors, reading, and is addicted to superhero movies. You can find her on Twitter.