Blank Slate Boarding House for Creatives

The Blank Slate Boarding House is a haven for writers, painters, musicians and others that require inspiration, to gather and work on their masterpieces. However there is a dark side of creativity and the connection of the residents to the capricious, mysterious magician, Perjos could lead to their success or their undoing. Into this confrontation comes the newest servant in the house, Emily who must resist Perjos's powers.

Overall, this was a well written book that took multiple threads that gradually wound themselves together to draw a whole picture. The story was moody and dark with foreboding which helped give a sense of the desperation of some of the characters along with the sense of an impending doom that must be stopped. I show more wholeheartedly enjoyed this story and would highly recommend it.

**I received a free copy of this book for review from librarything.com show less

I was originally drawn to this book by its cover (I admit it), but Stanton more than delivers with this novel!

The story follows the lives of a plethora of characters--famous figures of the liberal arts and the working class alike--as their paths cross, intertwine, and diverge. The creatives boarding at Blank Slate are all tortured artists seeking refuge, but their torment is not of the cliche "victim of their genius" kind; rather, each of the artists has crossed paths with a dark magician named Perjos, whom abuses his powers for sick, sadistic ends, and the guests now suffer to regain control of their selves and their respective arts. With a challenge extended by Houdini himself, Perjos is now on the move, preparing for his most cruel show more trick yet, and the Bank Slate Boarding House is the final stop on his tour.

Magic is a huge component of this story, but not the cheesy rabbit-in-the-hat tricks we associate with it today. Perjos' magic is something far more dark and sinister--seemingly nothing but cruel entertainment for himself. I couldn't believe how this novel got progressively darker. It was truly disconcerting to read, with instances of incest, rape, mutilation, and pure horror manifesting in the idea that not all is as it seems.

Despite the fantasy of the novel, the plausibility of the characters--their individual, definitive corks and personalities and their elaborate backgrounds--solidly grounds the story. The plot is beautifully constructed with intricate sub-plots that make this illusive story uncertain until the very end.

Suspenseful and intriguing! 4 stars! show less

Although i enjoyed this book, i was left wondering about many things in respect the the characters, the authors descriptions are well done, and gives enough to the characters in the story for them to be relevent, the plot twists and turns and keeps your interest, and the connection of the fiction to history was clever, the ending was a bit abrupt even though it concluded all the storylines, perhaps i was hoping for a sequel that would answer some of my questions...maybe a prequel would resolve that..very much worth the read though.

There is Magic (yes, with a capital M) in the air in Blank Slate Boarding House for Creatives, an interesting and spooky fantasy by Chaunce Stanton. It is peopled with a bizarre collection of “creatives;” souls who have been tormented in one way or another by the mysterious and vengeful Perjos. I am not a reader of dark and fearful books, as a rule, but upon being granted a review e-book copy by Stanton via Librarything (www.librarything.com) I decided to take my time and explore this foreboding book.

Each of the characters is sketched with delicate and slowly moving pen; we come to know them, their motivations and their past with Perjos a little bit at a time. Sometimes the book moved too slowly for me, but the characters were show more interesting enough and peculiar enough to keep me reading. The owner of this boarding house never goes out of her home. She has made a bargain with the devil, aka Perjos, in her distant past, and her reasons twist and turn through the book.

The two maids, who are much more than mere maid-servants, cling together, at first, for their own disparate reasons. One - Susanna - is in the throes of Perjos, the other, the newest staff member Emily, is not... or is she? Her confusion and frustrating sluggishness of understanding sometimes makes for a frustrating read, but her behavior sucks you into the plot, like yelling at characters in a TV movie. IN addition, one of the most important characters is Old Ted, who acts as a subliminal consciousness for the house itself, and Mrs. Cornelius the owner. Working in concert with Emily, they do their best to save the residents from the evil that is Perjos.

There is an interesting addition to the plot as well - the fantasy/horror element of dying trees. There is a plague, worldwide, destroying the forests. We read, appalled, at the destruction of trees and can’t help but compare it to the ruination we seem to be deliberately perpetrating on our planet’s resources today. Frankly, it kind of bummed me out, which may have been Stanton’s purpose; a wake-up call to the masses? We also see some true to life people in this book, in make-believe situations; including Houdini and Doyle of Sherlock Holmes fame!

Despite (or because of?) the moodiness and darkness that surrounds the boarding house and the Perjos victims, the book does have an ending of a surprisingly upbeat nature. For me, it was not an easy read, but it was certainly an interesting one! show less

Mystery, Magic and Mayhem; now where to start…

First, I have to state that I did not purchase this book; I received this eBook in exchange for a review and I am glad that I did. The original description of this book was exciting - a story line that was somewhat fresh and enticing. The book is based during a rich period, the first quarter of the Twentieth Century; books written about this era always intrigue me. As a bonus, I found out that it is also Enhanced EBook, and the since the Editor does a fantastic job of explaining this, I will share with you what they have written: "A connection to the Internet affords you an enhanced audio and visual experience throughout this humble book. Hyperlinked items transport you to music, show more photographs, and moving pictures from the early 1920's. As with any open-range traveling, we must urge readers not to stray too far away from us, for there are many dangerous paths leading from here." (Taken from Blank Slate Boarding House for Creatives (Kindle Locations 48-52)). I first started to read the book on my dependable Kindle Keyboard, which does offer internet connection- but found it to be frustrating when it came to trying to use the hyperlinks, and switched over to my iPad, which made the transition smoother from book text to hyperlink. The bad part about this that I did find myself spending more time enjoying some of the links learning about various artists that it took away from reading the book.

Now, on to the story. This story was full of colorful characters both fictional and non-fictional. One of the main characters, Prejos, a magician by trade - but I think more of a wicked mystic or hypnotist, is presented as a great rival for Harry Houdini, also featured in this book. It was this rivalry that added some great reading and some explanation of Prejos behavior. Prejos is a powerful magician, so powerful that it is said that healthy audience members just up and died during his shows. Was it magic, hypnotism or mysticism? Early in the story, Prejos is due to arrive on a ship that mysteriously wrecks on the shore not that far from where it is suppose to anchor - Prejos is presumed missing, and yet later winds up just fine at the Boarding house.

Mrs. Rose Cornelius was the owner of the Blank Slate Boarding House for Creatives, she employed a freethinking young lady named Susanna, and found she needed more help and hired on the more conservative Emily. The Boarding house is caters to musicians, dancers, authors, actors, and of course, magicians. Mrs. Cornelius does a wonderful job handling the needs of all the obscure requests made by her various artist guests, and yet she does have one major flaw, she cannot step out of the boarding house to save her life. As to why - that is for you to find out. It will also be interesting for you to find as to where Susanna comes from and why Mrs. Cornelius keeps her.

Be ready for several twists, turns and hidden theories throughout the book. There are many times in this book were descriptions are made with so much detail, that there is no room left for the imagination. By the time you are done with the book, you are on an intimate level with almost all the characters, don't worry, some are still left mysterious. Not a quick read by any means; it takes concentration and attention to detail to take it all in. I started to read the book, was caught up by few too many hyperlinks, went through all of them, and still read the book a second time to grasp everything. If I did not like the book, I would not have gone through all that. Again, it just seemed like it took a bit more effort than a regular read. I would recommend this for more of a seasoned reader. show less

A great book full of little mysteries and a lot of magic. The book follows two different storylines: one of Emily, a new worker at the Blank Slate Boarding House; the other of Perjos, a devious magician that rivals Harry Houdini.

I read the enhanced e-book version, which is a new experience to me. This version linked to pictures, music and recipes from the time period (the 1920's). It was definately interesting, I'm just not quite used to it yet.

I loved the writing style of this book, it kept me intrigued throughout. The characters were also well developed. I wish I could have learned more about their fates at the end. The environmental angle in the book was also a plus for me.

What an engaging story! I was drawn into the world created by Chaunce Stanton from the first page and was sorry to have to say goodbye as I read the last words. But, at the end, I was actually also a little glad to finish the story, as life within its pages was a consuming passion that had robbed me of many hours of normal life.

The story of The Blank Slate Boarding House for Creatives truly is a tale of Magic and Art, of Life and Death, and of Prohibitions (of more than one kind). It follows, mostly, the days and nights of one of the servants at the boarding house, Emily Turner, as she wanders in and out of the realities of those living in the house.

There is also a battle raging as to just who is the best magician ever living- a title show more long thought awarded to Houdini, but another magician, called Perjos, begs to differ. Their ongoing battle ensnares all the members of the house in as tangled a web as the one created by the house itself.

Nothing is as it seems and few things remain as they were for long in this tale of Madness, Mayhem, and Magic. show less