Los Angeles, California Nov 19, 2025 (Issuewire.com) - My Cemetery Friends: A Garden of Encounters at Mount Saint Mary in Queens, New York by Vincent J. Tomeo continues to captivate readers with its profound blend of poetry, reflection, and humanity. This celebrated collection invites readers to walk with the author through the quiet pathways of one of New Yorks historic cemeteries, discovering the stories, memories, and lessons embedded in every step.
A two-time Pushcart Prize nominee, Tomeo transforms the cemetery into a living museumone where nature, memory, and human connection converge. The book highlights encounters with the forgotten, the honored, the unnamed, and the deeply loved. Reviewers praise its power to inspire gratitude, contemplation, and renewed appreciation for life's fleeting beauty. Critics from Pacific Book Review and the US Review of Books describe the work as thought-invoking, beautifully reflective, and a celebration of life itself.
Tomeos distinguished career spans more than 1,064 published poems and essays, 108 awards, and 149 public readings. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Evening Street Review, Comstock Review, Mid-America Poetry Review, Mudfish, and many others, establishing him as a vital voice in contemporary poetry and historical reflection.
My Cemetery Friends will be showcased at the Combined Books Exhibit during the 2025 National Council Teachers of English (NCTE) event, held November 2023, 2025, in Denver, CO. As one of the oldest and most influential educational book fairs in the country, NCTE draws 8,000 teachers, administrators, and literary professionals seeking meaningful works across all grade levels and genres.
My Cemetery Friends stands out as a timeless, life-affirming contributionone that encourages readers to look inward, honor memory, and embrace the shared journey of being human.
The book is available on Amazon and major online bookstores.
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Acclaimed horror novelist and U.S. Army veteran Vanessa M. Chattman returns with a chilling new supernatural tale that promises to haunt readers long after the final page. Her latest novel, BENEATH THE OAK, delivers a gripping blend of psychological terror, hidden family secrets, and ghostly suspensecementing Vanessa M. Chattmans reputation as one of the most compelling voices in modern horror.
Set in the quiet isolation of rural America, BENEATH THE OAK follows Alyssa Ward, a grieving woman forced to confront the shadows of her past when she returns to her childhood home after her mothers sudden death. What she expects to be a simple homecoming becomes a descent into a generational nightmare. The massive oak tree looming behind the houseonce a symbol of comfortnow pulses with an eerie, oppressive presence. At night, whispers seep from its roots, and ghostly silhouettes gather beneath its branches, watching, waiting.
As Alyssa sorts through her mothers belongings, she discovers a series of journals revealing a dark family curse tied to the ancient tree. For generations, the Ward family has been tormented by a spirit bound to the oakone that selects a single family member to keep beneath its roots. When Alyssa begins experiencing visions of a young girl calling her name, begging for release, she realizes the curse is awakening once more.
The deeper Alyssa digs into her familys past, the more the veil between the living and the dead unravels. The spirit beneath the oak soon reveals its true identitysomeone Alyssa once knew, someone she unknowingly abandoned. To break the curse, Alyssa must confront buried memories, longforgotten guilt, and a supernatural force determined to claim her as its next offering. The battle becomes not only for her life, but for her soul.
Vanessa M. Chattmans signature styleatmospheric, emotionally charged, and rooted in psychological horrorshines throughout BENEATH THE OAK. Known for her ability to blend haunting imagery with human vulnerability, Chattman crafts a narrative that is both terrifying and profoundly intimate. Her exploration of grief, memory, and generational trauma elevates the novel beyond traditional horror, offering readers a story that is as thoughtprovoking as it is chilling.
With a growing body of acclaimed work spanning supernatural fiction, psychological thrillers, and cinematic screenplays, Vanessa M. Chattman continues to push the boundaries of the genre. BENEATH THE OAK stands as one of her most powerful works to datea haunting reminder that the past never truly stays buried, and some spirits refuse to be forgotten.
BENEATH THE OAK is now available through major retailers and online platforms. Readers seeking a gripping, atmospheric, and emotionally resonant supernatural horror experience will find themselves captivatedand hauntedby Vanessa M. Chattmans latest masterpiece.
Amazon.com: BENEATH THE OAK: A NOVEL: 9798248707652: Chattman, Vanessa M.: Books
BENEATH THE OAK: A NOVEL by Vanessa M. Chattman | eBook | Barnes & Noble®
BENEATH THE OAK by Vanessa M. Chattman on Apple Books
BENEATH THE OAK eBook by Vanessa M. Chattman - EPUB | Rakuten Kobo United States
Source :Author Vanessa M. Chattman
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