91 Books Like Free the Darkness

I received the Dungeons and Dragons Basic Red Box as a kid, and I have been hooked on all things fantasy fiction since. It has become a part of my life so much that each character takes on a special importance for me. Some characters exist in worlds full of swords and magic, while others live in realms that are dirty, bleak, and on the brink of utter ruin. As a writer, I enjoy seeing the different perspectives these characters bring to fantasy settings. It makes them unique, each in their own way. Some want to right the wrongs of the worlds they reside in, while others don’t care if it all burns down around them.

I’ve loved creating and writing stories since childhood, and my ambitions started early. I started one of my largest and longest writing endeavors back in middle school—novelizing a popular video game called Chrono Trigger—and even into adulthood, it stretched into a serious effort. I used it to hone my writing craft for years, constantly bouncing feedback off others. Eventually, people started to tell me that the best parts of that story were the scenes I added to enhance it, and I finally decided that I wanted to pursue the creation of my own fantasy series. 

My therapist would say my passion for “Gary Stu” characters comes from a childhood of inadequacy. I was always smaller than the other kids (even the girls). I was sooo awkward. Sports? Forget about it. Also, I was a kleptomaniac. Wait… I’m not sure I was supposed to tell you that last one. When I open up a book and become an attractive, smart, athletic pseudo-Ryan my inner child takes the wheel of a monster truck. And life is good.

I’ve always felt myself to be different, odd, and a bit of a loner. As a child, people said I was "too clever by half," and I both hated and loved being able to understand things that other kids did not. Being good at maths and science in a girls’ boarding school does not make you friends! Escaping all that, I became a psychologist and, after a dramatic out-of-body experience, began studying lucid dreams, sleep paralysis, psychic claims, and all sorts of weird and wonderful experiences. This is why I love all these books about exceptional children.

I grew up in the lap of Borscht Belt comedy in an entertainment family, the dour child with a precocious predilection for reading archaic literature. My parents gave me a subscription to Punch Magazine and subjected me to countless comedy movies during my formative years strapped to a chair à la Clockwork Orange. Which explains how I ended up an international banker. Until late in life with the publication of my first novel, a satire. After eight successive novels, I realized that I should have listened to the family’s adage, “Don’t Quit Your Day Job.”

I’m a writer and a secondary school English teacher, but of all my roles, the one I cherish most is being a mom. I love being a mom! And I have found that reading books about motherhood has helped keep me sane and broadened my view of what trying my best as a mom can look like. I have found that wisdom and inspiration can be found in all kinds of places, from a memoir to a thriller to a middle-grade novel. I very much hope you enjoy the books on this list as much as I have! 

I don’t believe in ghosts, but fascination with the supernatural has been with me since childhood, my inquiring mind constantly seeking answers. Research through books and documentaries and talking to people on the subject leads me to conclude there has to be a scientific and rational explanation for every paranormal happening. Theories abound, none are conclusive, but one accepted theory stands out, and this is explored and expanded upon in my novel White Stones. The books chosen here are excellent examples in the world of the supernatural and paranormal and are worth reading whether you believe in ghosts or not. Some just might make you change your mind.

I’ve always been fascinated by things paranormal and supernatural. There is so much in the “real” world that we don’t understand and can’t prove their existence, but there is enough video and photos, as well as stories, that I don’t see how we can say there’s not more beyond our five senses. Many of my own books center on paranormal abilities and events, and I do love reading about them as well!

I have been a fan of the horror genre since I was a kid. Even though sometimes I was so scared, I had to sleep with the light on or not sleep at all. Something about the darkness and the unknown has always seemed so alluring. I can't even count the number of horror movies I've watched or books I've read. That feel of the hair standing up on your arms or the back of your neck is a thrill like no other. 

I grew up in the lap of Borscht Belt comedy in an entertainment family, the dour child with a precocious predilection for reading archaic literature. My parents gave me a subscription to Punch Magazine and subjected me to countless comedy movies during my formative years strapped to a chair à la Clockwork Orange. Which explains how I ended up an international banker. Until late in life with the publication of my first novel, a satire. After eight successive novels, I realized that I should have listened to the family’s adage, “Don’t Quit Your Day Job.”