I usually include the freebies and sales in the blog post and I FORGOT!! Here you go! 

First, I have a quick announcement; Rydan's getting a Hard Cover facelift and we need reviews! If you want a FREE copy of the ebook and a chance to get your comments on a cover, check out this link! Limited copies so get yours now!
https://booksprout.co/reviewer/review-copy/view/80174/rydan

Now, for the blog!
I have a confession; I can't handle horror. In fact, most thrillers are a problem too. 

It's a bit weird when I get down to it. Stick me in a haunted house, and I'm totally fine! I'm hard to surprise, and I don't spook easily in real life at all. I'm rather brave! I am confident in my abilities. I easily see through cheap scares and can roll my eyes at silly tropes meant to terrify people. I love to challenge myself and will take on new and risky tasks. I even enjoy that thrill of the unknown or a mystery!

But I'm a wimp when it comes to the written word. What gives?

It's gotten so bad that I have to caution people at critiques or show and tells to warn me so I can tune out. And if you're going to toss in a child under threat, I'm so done! It only got worse when I had kids; I cannot control those hormones. Even the classic "grab the crying kid before the falling tower falls on them" freaks me out now. I'm so upset by a hysterical kid that I will turn off a show or close a book if it comes up.

I blame my brain. I am a logical person, so I can pick apart reality, but my imagination is outside my control. I spend a lot of time trying to re-direct my doggone imagination anyway! It's a pessimistic beast, my brain. It loves to latch onto imagery in books and run with it. So if it gets its mitts on something scary, it will sit with it for ages. And that means I'm not sleeping! It feels so damn real, yet (and this is the important part) OUTSIDE OF MY CONTROL. In life, I can adjust what I do to mitigate the threat. I can face it. But I can't control what happens in a book because it's not me in that book. 

I hate it. I hate being scared, knowing there is no reason to be because it's just a story, yet having it run in my brain repeatedly. I hate lying awake trying to calm my heart and logic my way out of something I read or saw.

So while I want to support writers of all kinds, please forgive me if I don't read your horror or thriller novel. And if you endanger a child, give me a heads up, or I might be cutting the reading short and having sleepless nights! And be aware; at the end of the day, people have these different triggers. I'm not saying you can't do it! Just recognize the impact you are having and use these remarkable powers for good! 

The following comic spoke to me; Words are so amazing! But please DO use this power wisely!  All credit to John McNamee