Briana Morgan

Fully Booked, with Briana Morgan: Crossroads

Hey, there. How are you doing? Welcome back to Fully Booked! I’m Briana Morgan, and today, we’ll be discussing Crossroads by Laurel Hightower, published by Off Limits Press. Since its release, this book has been all over the Internet and I had to get my hands on it as soon as possible. I preordered the book before it went live, but I kept moving it further and further down my list of books to read—that is, until it came time to write this review. I jumped at the chance to read it, and as soon as I read it, I had to share my thoughts on it with you.

But before I do that, here’s the back cover text:

How far would you go to bring back someone you love?

When Chris’s son dies in a tragic car crash, her world is devastated. The walls of grief close in on Chris’s life until, one day, a small cut on her finger changes everything.

A drop of blood falls from Chris’s hand onto her son’s roadside memorial and, later that night, Chris thinks she sees his ghost outside her window. Only, is it really her son’s ghost, or is it something else—something evil?

Soon Chris is playing a dangerous game with forces beyond her control in a bid to see her son, Trey, alive once again.

This short little book absolutely destroyed me, and I mean that in the best way possible. I read the whole thing in one sitting. I honestly could not put it down. I knew this book was going to wreck me based on everything I’d heard about it, but I didn’t fully understand what I was getting myself into.

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Full disclosure here, for those of you who only know me online: I’m soft. Softer than anyone might think. I love spooky things and write lots of violence and terror and hauntings, but it takes next to nothing to make me cry. Show me a commercial about a puppy or a soldier coming home from afar to meet his new daughter and I fall apart. So, going into Crossroads, I expected to feel something. What I didn’t expect was the range of emotions I went through while reading this book.

One of Laurel’s biggest strengths as a writer is her nuanced characterization. Chris feels like a real person. She feels like someone I know, someone close to me. Although I have never dealt with the loss of a child, I empathized with Chris and felt her pain as if it were my own. In her struggle to reconnect with Trey, she didn’t do anything I wouldn’t do if I found myself in a similar situation. I fully understood her thought process and her desperation and—more than anything—I wanted her to find some closure and a way to cope with losing her son.

In Crossroads, once Chris pricks her finger, she wonders if shedding more blood will strengthen her connection to her dead son. It’s a difficult concept to come to terms with—as emotionally fraught as it is intriguing. She’s willing to go through almost anything to speak with Trey again, and the depth of her yearning shows. At times, it’s hard to read. Laurel goes to some very dark, very real places that anyone who has ever lost a loved one is sure to recognize. And, as much as it hurt me, I loved every second of it. I loved how much it made me feel.

And Crossroads is easy to read in one sitting because it’s short. The only downside to talking about shorter books like this one is twofold: One, I can’t go into too much detail without spoiling significant plot points; and two, the story ends sooner than I would like. That’s not to say Crossroads left me feeling incomplete. The story feels as long as it needs to be, fully realized even in a compact form. When the book finished, I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. I mean that as a compliment to Laurel’s expertise.

Author, Laurel Hightower

This is one of the only horror books I’ve read to make me full-on sob. Horror with heart is one of my favorite things in the world, and Crossroads offers heart in spades. Laurel has a knack for weaving powerful prose and a gripping, evocative narrative for a story that never stops moving, never stops putting you through the emotional wringer. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since I read it, and even after writing this review, I think this book is going to stick with me for a long, long time.

I’ll be sharing a table of contents with Laurel in the upcoming Slash-Her anthology from Kandisha Press, and it’s truly an honor to be in any way associated with her. Crossroads gets five stars from me. If you’re interested in reading this book, you can get it on Amazon or from Off Limits Press directly. You can also follow Laurel on Instagram and Twitter. More Off Limits Press reviews coming soon.


Briana Morgan (she/her) is a horror author and playwright of books such as THE TRICKER-TREATER AND OTHER STORIES, UNBOXED, and BLOOD AND WATER. She is also a proud member of the Horror Writers Association. Briana lives with her partner and two cats in Atlanta, GA.

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Fully Booked, with Briana Morgan: Scanlines

It’s Friday, and you know what that means—I’m back with another doozy of an indie horror book for you to check out. This time, we’re taking a look at Scanlines, a slender tome by Bram Stoker Award nominated author Todd Keisling that packs a significant punch.

How can something this short be scary, you ask? You’ll have to take my word for it. Of course, if you work up the courage to read it, I’m sure you’ll see for yourself.

Here’s the book’s back cover summary:

In 1987, Congressman Benjamin Hardy III died by suicide on live television amidst accusations of political corruption. Years later, rumors of a recording surfaced among VHS trading groups and urban legend chat rooms. Dubbed the “Duncan Tape,” after the deceased cameraman who attempted to sell the video, the rumors allege that anyone who watches the tape is driven to suicide.

Or so the story goes. In truth, no one has ever seen the supposed Duncan Tape, presumably because it doesn’t exist. It’s a ghost story perpetuated on the forums and chat rooms of the internet, another handful of bytes scattered across the Information Superhighway at blistering 56K modem speeds.

For Robby and his friends, an urban legend is the last thing on their minds when a boring Friday night presents a chance to download porn. But the short clip they watch turns out to be something far more graphic and disturbing, and in the coming days, they’ll learn even the most outlandish urban legends possess a shred of truth…

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Once Robby and his friends see the clip, it digs its claws into their minds. It haunts them as they try to go about their everyday lives. No matter how they try to distract themselves or move on, they can’t shake the Duncan Tape’s influence.

Since this is such a short book, I don’t want to give away too much more. This book has recently been reprinted by Perpetual Motion Publishing with a chilling new cover that hints at the violence within. This book is not for the faint of heart.

Author, Todd Keisling

Scanlines feels like a LiveLeak video queued up at three a.m., just for the hell of it. It hits like a grainy crime scene photo you wish you’d never seen. Once you start reading, this book is an itch you can’t scratch that makes you consider peeling off your own skin.

I mean that in the best way if you can believe it. This book has realistic characters, a gripping plot, and imagery that will likely repulse me forever.

Todd Keisling’s Scanlines gets five shaking, terrified stars from me. If you love horror that isn’t afraid to push limits and scare you in brand-new ways, grab it from PMM’s website. You can also follow Todd on Twitter and support him via Patreon.

What did you think about Scanlines?


Briana Morgan (she/her) is a horror author and playwright of books such as THE TRICKER-TREATER AND OTHER STORIES, UNBOXED, and BLOOD AND WATER. She is also a proud member of the Horror Writers Association. Briana lives with her partner and two cats in Atlanta, GA.

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Fully Booked, with Briana Morgan: Unfortunate Elements of My Anatomy

Hello, spooky readers! It's me, Briana. I'm back with another indie horror review. This time, we'll be discussing Hailey Piper's book Unfortunate Elements of My Anatomy. Besides some solid scares, the collection contains some seething social commentary, and I can't wait to share a little more about it here.

Hailey Piper does it again. Anyone else who appreciates her work will be happy to hear that her latest collection,Unfortunate Elements of My Anatomy, does not disappoint.

Released in May 2021, Unfortunate Elements of My Anatomy is a read I couldn't wait to get my hands on this year. If you haven't read the book, here's the back cover summary to give you an idea of what we're getting into:

Love twisted into horrific shapes, nightmares driven by cruel music, and a world where what little light remains fractures the sky into midnight rainbows in eighteen stories tracing the dark veins of queer horror, isolation, and the monstrous feminine.

The universe unwinds to the tune of a malicious ice cream truck jingle in “We All Scream”. “The Law of Conservation of Death” dictates that a ghost pursue his prey across her every reincarnation. Superstitions thrive even in the distant future and across the stars when a colony shuttle mounts a witch trial in “Hairy Jack”. And try to “Forgive the Adoring Beast” as it scavenges a world of dead gods for tokens of bloody affection.

Including two new short stories and a never-before-published novelette, Unfortunate Elements of My Anatomy digs deep inside us and clings to the beating nightmare heart you always knew was there.

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I'm not sure which of Piper's stories I read first, but I've been hooked on her fiction ever since. One of her stories, Unkindly Girls, appeared in last summer's Worst Laid Plans anthology, edited by Samantha Kolesnik, and I knew I had to seek more of her work. Right now, Unfortunate Elements of My Anatomy is sitting pretty at #17 in LGBT Horror Fiction, #63 in LGBTQ+ Horror eBooks, and #774 in Lesbian Fiction on the Amazon charts. Its spot there is well-earned. Although it isn't Pride Month anymore, support this queer author by picking up this collection or something else of hers soon.

Author, Hailey Piper

In Unfortunate Elements of My Anatomy, Piper introduces strong female characters, challenges stereotypical LGBTQ+ tropes and representation, and blends various horror subgenres, from body horror to cosmic horror and everything in between. Out of all eighteen stories, it's hard to pick a favorite. However, "Recitation of the First Feeding" left a lasting impression on me. I also loved "Demons of a Particular Taste." While giving you an overview of these stories, I'll try not to spoil too much.

"Recitation of the First Feeding" is the last story in the collection, and it packs quite a punch. Besides containing a line that inspires the title, this story features a unique tale of identity and coming into one's own. We follow a boy named Alex as he strives to stop an entity from stealing his sister's dolls and his mother's cosmetics—and leaving Alex to take the blame for it. Along the way, he discovers a posse of demons called the Culinary Court... and things get pretty spooky and ghastly from there.

Like "Recitation of the First Feeding," "Demons of a Particular Taste" stuck its claws into my brain. In this tale, Piper plays with demons and an exorcism—two elements I can never pass up and that are very much in my wheelhouse. Though the prose feels effortless in this one and does a phenomenal job of showcasing Piper's sense of humor, it still incites a sense of dread. I loved the discovery of the truth of the exorcism ritual and how it affects the women's relationship. That's all I can say. Go read it!

These are just two stories out of a whopping eighteen in the collection, including two new, exclusive pieces not published anywhere else. If you're looking for a short story collection to explore, I can't recommend Unfortunate Elements of My Anatomy by Hailey Piper enough. This book gets 5/5 stars from me. You can purchase the book on Amazon, add it to your to-read list on Goodreads, or purchase it from several other retailers. I also recommend following Piper on Instagram and Twitter. This woman is going places.


Briana Morgan (she/her) is a horror author and playwright of books such as THE TRICKER-TREATER AND OTHER STORIES, UNBOXED, and BLOOD AND WATER. She is also a proud member of the Horror Writers Association. Briana lives with her partner and two cats in Atlanta, GA.

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Fully Booked, with Briana Morgan: Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke

Hey there! I’m Briana Morgan, a horror author and playwright. My books include THE TRICKER-TREATER AND OTHER STORIES, UNBOXED: A PLAY, and more. I’m also a member of the Horror Writers Association, and I love books. I especially love scary books. When I heard about the opportunity to review indie horror books, I jumped at the chance. One of my favorite things about being an indie author is how supportive the horror community is. Mostly, it feels like we all genuinely want each other to succeed and will do all we can to help each other.

Full disclosure: my friends have written some books I’ll be reviewing. That doesn’t mean I won’t be honest about them. I won’t recommend work here unless I truly believe it’s worth a reader’s time. There are too many wonderful books in the world for us to waste time reading bad ones.

What have you done today to deserve your eyes? I hate to ask that question, and you’ll soon discover why.

Today, I’m thrilled to talk about THINGS HAVE GOTTEN WORSE SINCE WE LAST SPOKE, a gripping novella by Eric Larocca, published by Weirdpunk Books. I’ve seen this book EVERYWHERE. If I didn’t know Eric, it would still have been on my radar because it’s appeared all over Instagram, Tiktok, and even YouTube. At the time of writing this review, THINGS HAVE GOTTEN WORSE SINCE WE LAST SPOKE is sitting pretty at #1 in LGBT+ Horror eBooks, #2 in LGBT Horror Fiction, and #2 in Epistolary Fiction on the Amazon charts. That’s not nothing.

If you haven’t heard of the book or know nothing about it, here’s the back cover copy for you:

Sadomasochism. Obsession. Death.

A whirlpool of darkness churns at the heart of a macabre ballet between two lonely young women in an internet chat room in the early 2000s—a darkness that threatens to forever transform them once they finally succumb to their most horrific desires.

What have you done today to deserve your eyes?

Like I’ve mentioned, I’ve followed Eric Larocca for a while and I was interested in this book not only because of its author, but because its premise sounded wild—but wild in the best way. I’m a sucker for found footage films and epistolary media in all its forms. When I heard THINGS HAVE GOTTEN WORSE SINCE WE LAST SPOKE is told via chat room, instant messaging, and email exchanges, I dove in. Epistolary media can be hard to pull off, but Larocca’s creepy yarn does the format justice.

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In this novella, Agnes Petrella posts a listing for an old apple peeler on an online queer community board. I should note that this book takes place in the year 2000. In her first post, Agnes describes the apple peeler as a family heirloom and discloses its history. A woman named Zoe Cross responds to the listing right away, captivated by the apple peeler, its story, and its owner. What follows is a twisted series of correspondences that blur the lines between love and obsession that quickly spirals out of control.

In THINGS HAVE GOTTEN WORSE SINCE WE LAST SPOKE, Larocca presents two messy queer women whose relationship leaves its mark on both—albeit in unique ways. As the two women get to know each other better and develop a sadomasochist relationship, they take turns pushing each other just a bit further from their comfort zones, trying to see how far they’ll go in the name of “love.”

The relationship presented on the page is more obsessive than anything else, and obviously toxic. By writing about such a relationship, Larocca is not condoning it, nor is he advocating for this kind of dynamic. He’s just depicting a darker, very real, side of human relationships that it can be far too easy for participants to find themselves caught up in.

Author, Eric Larocca

Larocca and I were part of a discussion regarding the depiction of queer characters in horror, especially in horror books. Often readers, especially cisgender heterosexual readers, raise red flags when they see queer people depicted as real human beings. Whew, that’s a lot to unpack, so let me explain. If a queer character is flawed, many reviewers take this at face value as bad—perhaps even harmful—queer representation. From the reviews of this novella, it’s also relevant here.

Let’s get one thing straight: I’m not. Neither is Larocca. That’s one reason we were part of the group discussing queer representation. We also, like many other queer authors, believe in presenting queer characters as real individuals, warts and all. With writing, we want to see ourselves accurately depicted in media. We don’t want to see perfect people, regardless of their sexual orientation. And the characters in THINGS HAVE GOTTEN WORSE SINCE WE LAST SPOKE are decidedly not perfect people. But that’s what makes them so compelling.

This novella’s characters are its greatest strength. Since the epistolary format strips away all the trimmings of scenery, imagery, and anything else that might detract from the story core, if the characters aren’t real, the book falls flat. THINGS HAVE GOTTEN WORSE SINCE WE LAST SPOKE does not fall flat. It has some of the most realistic characters and depictions of a harmful relationship that I’ve ever read. If that’s not enough reason for you to read it—and for me to recommend it—then I don’t know what is.

I give THINGS HAVE GOTTEN WORSE SINCE WE LAST SPOKE 5/5 stars. It’s available in paperback and ebook form on Amazon, as well as a host of other retailers. You can (and should) also follow the author Eric Larocca on Twitter and Instagram. Stay tuned for more spooky book recommendations!


Briana Morgan (she/her) is a horror author and playwright of books such as THE TRICKER-TREATER AND OTHER STORIES, UNBOXED, and BLOOD AND WATER. She is also a proud member of the Horror Writers Association. Briana lives with her partner and two cats in Atlanta, GA.

Amazon | Website | Twitter | Instagram