I was always a shy kid who lacked self-confidence. I used to live in my head, making up stories, and “talking to” the characters I created. When my Grade 9 English teacher raved about a short story I wrote, I knew I would one day write a novel. In 2002, in my early 30s, after a significant breakup, I wrote my first book. In 2015, my husband encouraged me to publish it. Those characters and stories now live on paper in the form of various genres. I am blessed to call myself an author, and to be able to share those stories with you.
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Title: Sultry Is the Night
Author Barbara Avon
Genre Romance
Book Blurb:
The year is 1982.
This town has a distinct border, the good side and the shady side, where the townspeople battle rats for scraps of food. Mario used to live among the rich, but he now resides on the wrong side of the tracks thanks to the father who left him behind. Worst of all, he’s mourning his mother’s death and what he thinks is the loss of his lifelong dream, becoming a chef.
After meeting Dito who owns "Dean's Pizzeria", things are finally changing for Mario. Until Tess enters his life – the beautiful, mysterious stranger who lives in a luxury high rise. But there’s something off, something she’s hiding, something dark.
Some borders aren’t meant to be crossed.
"Sultry, Is the Night", is for anyone who has ever felt like they didn't belong.
Excerpt:
“Good night, Tess.”
“Don’t you want to come inside?”
“Not tonight,” he said, placing a cigarette behind his ear. Undefeated, her hands moved to her t-shirt. She tied it at the waist, and made a knot, allowing him a full view of her navel. The Vixen’s Guide to Seduction.
“How about a kiss, then?”
His desire ached. In another life, he would have taken her in his arms with brazen assurance, but the Reaper was watching, waiting for him to screw up. Raising one hand, he gently brushed his thumb across her lips, and singing a loner’s refrain, he told her, “No. Not until you mean it.”
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Author Biography:
I am a wife, sister, daughter, an aunt, and a friend. I am a lover of words and a firm believer that if you "lose your dreams, you might lose your mind." (The Rolling Stones).
Barbara Avon was born in Switzerland and immigrated to Canada when she was two years old. She grew up Italian in the Niagara Region and attended Notre Dame High School, and then Brock University. She moved to Ottawa, Ontario, in 1999 to pursue work. She has worked for two major Ottawa area magazines and is a published poet.
In 2018, she won SpillWords Author of the Month, as well as FACES Magazine “Favourite Female Author”. Her work appears in various anthologies including Steering 23 Publications, Storytime for Grownups, and Beyond the Levee. In October of 2022, “Revived” was chosen as “Horror Book of the Year” by the “Feed My Reads” community.
When she's not writing, she's experimenting in the kitchen, reading, watching 1980s movies, or engaging with her peers on Twitter. She lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband Danny, their tarantula Betsy, and their houseplant, “Romeo”.
Social Media Links
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Title: Revived
Author: Barbara Avon
Genre: Psychological Horror
Book Blurb:
Escaping through the woods, he remembered the way he had disturbed tree branches and how the snow had fallen in clumps on his head as if God was smiting him for his sin.
Steven Gold was a man who turned heads. Men in suits wanted to be him. Women wanted to know him. Little old ladies wished to adopt him to fill the void of missing grandsons. His surname suited him. He lived an idyllic life with his wife of eleven years, Cassie, an artist whose passion for life was so deep, she blocked out the childhood memories that were the cause of her anxiety. On a rainy night, a celebratory dinner proved fateful when Steven was struck by a car. He died for a full 60 seconds. When they revived him, his sins followed him back. Set in 1994, "Revived" is a haunting psychological horror that reminds us that being sorry for our sins, does not free us from damnation, and that not even the ones we love the most can save us. He should have stayed dead.
Excerpt:
Metallica’s soulful rock ballad sent a chill through him as if the words to “Nothing Else Matters” were chipping away at his insides. Cassie could feel Steven’s eyes on her, dissecting her. She drank from her glass, savouring the elixir that would help her find her voice. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Put your wine glass down.”
Complying, she braced herself. She recognized the look in her husband’s eyes. He was starved for her. Steven picked her up and placed her on the island, forcing her dress to ride up her thighs. Her cuts had healed but five, faint red marks were still visible – tattoos of the flesh. Lowering his head, he kissed her there.
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