This Week in Horror 11/29/2017

The Big Book of Bootleg Horror Vol 3 - Various Authors

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Synopsis:

The third - and incredibly special volume in HellBound Books’ flagship horror anthology - this one bursting at the seams with even more fantastically dark horror from the cream of today’s horror scene, each one of whom was specially invited to contribute and support the fantastic Hilarity for Charity and its fight againt Alzheimer’s - proceeds from this mighty tome will be donated accordingly...

Featuring: Jack Ketchum, Michael Bray, Jeff Strand,
Chad Lutzke, Eddie Generous, Lance Tuck, Wade H. Garrett, Richard Chizmar and Billy Chizmar, James H Longmore, Jaap Boekestein, Iain Rob Wright, Michael McBride,
Edward Lee, David Owain Hughes, Ray Garton &
Benjamin Blake

Twenty-two tales of disturbing terror and nefarious imagination - the perfect antidote to a peaceful night’s sleep!

The Aching Darkness A Dark Fantasy Anthology - Various Authors

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Synopsis:

Sensuality, Madness, Tortured Souls, & Dangerous Beings

These pages contain thrilling short stories for the dark fantasy lover. Fight grotesque, body and soul consuming creatures, hacking off their limbs with sharp pointy weapons, as Dark Angel, Ilese, defends humanity, in A Darker Fall. Find your true power as the head witch in your ancient coven, while hiding a terrible secret costing you everyone you love in White Matron. Mind meld with killer, lover, and immortal, Joe Smith, in Lord of Blood. Travel to Sin City for a Post-apocalyptic Vampire of Vegas story stocked with vampires and zombies, in Brevity.

Depravity, Lies, Blood, Sex, & Magic

Will Set Your Pulse Pounding
Your Spine Tingling & Your Mind Reeling

Fans of As the World Dies series by Rhiannon Frater, Resident Evil, and I am Legend by Richard Matheson will enjoy sinking their fangs into Brevity by Alexia Purdy, while Lord of Blood by Robert Stock's leading vampire will appeal to fans of White Hot: A Hidden Legacy Novel. A Darker Fall by Parker Sinclair introduces a lethal dark angel assassin who hunts down monsters with an arsenal of guns, swords, and SFF gadgets in John Wick and Underworld fashion. Don't let the title "white witch" fool you, Jessica Ozment's White Matron's coming of age lead, Fey, hiding some kick-ass supernatural powers for fans of The Craft, Snow White and the Huntsman, The Magician's, and Stephen King.

Warning, stories may trigger arousal and cravings for more with pant worthy NA paranormal and supernatural romance scenes.
Faun Song - S.A. Baker


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Synopsis:

S. A. Baker delivers a new offering in the world of
Winterbourne

Isobel is just a simple girl living a simple life, until the call of Seonagh’s woods just outside the creepy Winterbourne cemetery.

She does not know why she is called there, but even her father, Ezra, understands the call, he
experienced it once himself.

A through the looking glass type adventure a little girl takes with twists and turns to excite even the most skeptic of adventurers.

Another out of the park adventure by S. A. Baker

Tales of a Dead End Street - Sam West


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Synopsis:

Five houses on a dead-end street. Five very different occupants within these houses, safe and snug on the night of Halloween…

But on this night, when the walls between the living and the dead are at their thinnest, bad things can happen. Devils can walk among us.

It all starts when nine-year-old Danny’s mum opens the door to a most unique group of trick or treaters. The catastrophic chain of events that follow will devastate the people on this dead-end street.

Wish the good folks of Eastcliff Parade a happy Halloween, because for most of them, it will be their last.
The Noctuary: Pandemonium - Greg Chapman


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Synopsis:
Psychiatrist Dr. Desmond Carter had always believed that his former patient, author Simon Ryan, was dead.

But, when a bloodstained manuscript penned by Ryan arrives at his office, Desmond begins to doubt everything he thought he had known—not just about the troubled author's past, but his own sanity. Desmond seeks the truth. Instead, he discovers the wellspring of madness.

In Pandemonium, the sequel to his acclaimed 2011 novella The Noctuary, Greg Chapman drags you deeper into the nightmarish reality of the Dark Muses—creatures forged from the very darkness in our own souls.

The words contained within will drive you mad… and damn you to Hell.

Monday Motivation: Better Late Than Never!

Free Read Friday: Destination Unknown

Photo courtesy of Olivier Guillard

Destination Unknown

Authors Note: Not too sure where this one is headed but we'll find out. Overheard a co-worker talking about not having calendars in her house and of course that piqued the interest of my writers mind. I wondered why one would not want a calendar unless it was to avoid being reminded of some past failure. Or maybe they were afraid to see how fast time flew as we all move towards a singular destination. After all, the only thing waiting for us at the end of life, is death, right?

Why anyone would want a calendar I have no idea, life is bad enough as it is without a constant reminder that another day has passed, and that you’ve taken one more step closer to the grave. My mom carried one of those day planners, you know the kind with kittens or some other cute shit on the cover, and all it ever did for her was serve as a constant reminder of the failure she’d become.

After all, we’re headed in the same direction, with the same destination awaiting us at the end. Be you a rich man or poor, a loving housewife or a whore, it didn’t matter. In the end we all died, beyond that it was destination unknown. Some believed in heaven and hell, while others assumed they would come back in a different guise. The only thing we really had to give us hope were our dreams.

For my mother her life’s dreams had slipped through her fingers, her prince in shining armor had arrived astride a Harley, swilling beer and smoking pot, with the occasional side trip courtesy of a little purple microdot. The castle turned out to be a cramped two bedroom trailer that was no better than a meat locker in the winter, and a sauna in the summer.

The walls were so thin the pictures hanging on them moved in response to a stiff wind. They had come with the trailer when we moved in, and one in particular stood out from the others. It was a painting of Jesus with children gathered around him. The title had been written in white along the bottom. Suffer the little children to come to me. It always got me to wondering about religion and belief. From my perspective, if god really did exist, he was one fucked up dude to let the things that happened to children go on. Or maybe he just didn’t care enough to interfere.

To say life was hard would be an understatement, life was, life. School, when I opted to attend, only served to reinforce the fact that I had come from the wrong side of the tracks. While everyone else was wearing Levi’s and Dockers, with Nike, Adidas or North Face shirts, I would arrive decked out in the latest cast offs compliments of Goodwill if Mom hadn’t drank up all the money for that month, or the local rescue mission if she was in her cups.

But who could blame her.

One time, when I was much younger, she told me that when she was a little girl she wanted to be a dancer. All of her friends were hoping to get married to a good man and they spent much of their time planning weddings that had a snowballs chance in hell of ever happening. Though one of her friends did manage to have the wedding of a lifetime, a fairy tale marriage that ended in divorce and suicide. 

She had been different, she told me that day, while she was about one and half sheets short of a full three sheets to the wind, and getting closer with every shot she took. She even tried to prove how good of a dancer she was by pirouetting through the living room. To be honest it looked pretty damned good to a scared seven year old kid worried she was about go off on one of her rampages. Then she tripped over the edge of the carpet and hit the floor with enough force to rattle the walls.

That was the day I learned the true meaning of suffer the children. I suffered because no one else was available to take the blame for not fixing the carpet. I was only seven, hell I was still trying to dress myself right, so fixing the carpet was a bit over my pay grade. 

To be continued!

If you've been enjoying what you've read why don't you stop by my one of my Author Pages listed below to check out my other work. 

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This Week in Horror 11/22/2017

The Devil Lives in Lawrence - S.K. Epperson

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Synopsis:
A routine real estate showing in the history-rich college town of Lawrence, Kansas takes a dark turn and brings Eve Mellor and Shawnee pilot Nate Catton together to face events littered with symbols too confusing to understand--and a few decapitated bodies. Neither wants to believe the bloodshed is attached to him or her, but the evidence proving one of them right is confounded by a meddling detective, a missing head, and a stalker who can't take no for an answer. Add to the mix a theory about crime that cost Eve her job and follows her everywhere, bringing back people from her past that she'd rather not think about, let alone face, particularly when Nate keeps bringing up nearby Stull, and the nation's fascination with the place believers call one of the "Seven doorways to hell."
The Scourge - R. Tilden Smith

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Synopsis:

Moji Douglas has spent most of her adult life fighting the demons of her childhood. But with determination, faith, and lots of help from her best friend Crystal, she believed she was on her way to fulfilling God's purpose for her life—to be a loving wife and mother with a family to call her own. But a cataclysmic event thrusts her into a fight for survival, forcing her to confront the broken pieces of a forgotten past, and unwittingly pits her against the greatest evil humanity has ever faced.

Demon Riders - Jack Holder

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Synopsis:

There is evil in this world. Demons, rampaging beasts…Texans…
For many in the world, there is only one hope to turn to. Harsk and his Riders, ruthless warriors against the encroaching darkness of the Pit. Defending the weak, destroyers of demons, and broken beyond any hope of repair.
But the Ride is changing. One day of recruiting will turn the Ride on its head, and many will never be the same again. All because of one poor child. Kait Demonborn is a Rider. Evil will never be prepared.

Knuckle Balled - Drew Stepek

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Synopsis:

Following the Vampire holocaust in LA, RJ and Eldritch find themselves in Austin with Bait’s younger sister, Pinball, searching for the great L. Byron Nghtyshade--the only one Eldritch believes can help them. But Austin is weirder than the duo could have imagined. Not only are there more vamp gangs hindering RJ’s mission, they’re more insane than their LA counterparts and addicted to harder drugs than heroin.

The obstacles push RJ into a pit of self-loathing and doubt of saving Pinbill from her sister’s fate. As the chances of survival dim, and RJ is given one final chance at redemption, he must confront the one true evil… himself.

Bacchus Chronicle - Stephanie Burke

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Synopsis:

Blakemore is many things to many people -- a songbird with an amazing voice, a vampire childe, the only one of his kind, and the darling in the eyes of his ex-deity Creator... A slave who is now free and seeking revenge on those who abused him.

Mentally fractured and bordering on insane, the childe who crosses three god pantheons, Blakemore will stop at nothing until he sees those who enslaved him laid low, but at what cost?

Reality and insanity blend as he draws closer to those who orchestrated his downfall, but will destiny decide his path or will Blakemore find the courage to stand up to fate and decide his own future?

Monday Motivation

Free Read Friday: Covenant The End

Read this story from the beginning HERE!

Covenant

Some promises can not be broken.

“But you must,” she whispered as silence replaced the voice of the storm and he struggled to understand, “don’t let me suffer anymore.”
 

He nodded then as he reached out to caress her lined cheek.
“I’m so sorry I’ve let you suffer,” he whispered as he wrapped her in his arms and pulled her close.
 

Dateline Cumberland AP - Emergency personnel responded to a 911 call from 1254 Mulberry street where they discovered what at first appeared to be a home invasion, but what turned out to be an apparent murder suicide attempt gone awry. The deceased was identified as sixty nine year old Patricia Halverson, who had been confined to bed as a result of advanced Alzheimer’s disease. Her seventy year old husband, Albert Halverson was discovered in the basement of his home, in a vintage 1940’s restored phone booth, with a self inflicted gunshot wound to his chest. He was transported to the Western Maryland Regional Hospital where he is currently listed in stable, but guarded condition.
 

Police have reported that the weapon used has not been discovered at this time. Next of kin have been notified and no charges have been filed. Local authorities have offered no further comment on the case. A source that asked to remain anonymous reported the initial 911 call came from a woman who would only identify herself as Pat, and was calling from a phone number that had been phased out in the mid-fifties. We will share more details as they become available. 

THE END

Authors Note: This is one of those stories I really need to revisit as I feel I have not done the story justice here. I was trying to find a way to show what it might be like to be in the mind of someone suffering from Alzheimer Disease. I couldn't very well just say, and he slipped into her mind, so I used the promise he'd made and the memory of it to hopefully bring the reader to the conclusion that  Albert was getting a glimpse of what his wife was going through. 

This story had its roots in a news item that appeared in my local paper. Concerning an older gentleman who killed his wife, then tried to commit suicide, failing to do so. They too were an older married couple and it got me to wondering how someone could kill the person they've loved for so many years. I guess it's true what they say. If you really love someone you will let them go.

If you've been enjoying what you've read why don't you stop by my one of my Author Pages listed below to check out my other work. 

Next week I will start the story DESTINATION UNKNOWN. 

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This week in Horror 11/15/2017

Crimson Tassels - Brian Nowak

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Synopsis:

Jack and Elizabeth should have it all. They saw the world as optimistic newlyweds, enjoying the prime of their lives with a home in the rural backcountry of Illinois. For him, it offered a place to establish himself on his new career as a college professor and for her, an ideal place to raise their children. Moving away from everything they knew and loved was a difficult decision, but one they undertook to follow Jack’s dream.

Jack knew the home needed work, but since it was structurally sound, he wasn’t too worried. The home came filled with furniture they could go through like archeologists studying how the people who abandoned the home thirty years ago lived.

A series of strange occurrences, and even stranger dreams, convince them that something in the house might be out to get them. When they finally decide it is time to leave the home for a better living situation they discover leaving isn’t so easy. A malevolent spirit named Marylyn needs something from them and will stop at nothing to get it.

Dark Side of the Museum - Randy Atwood

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Synopsis:

A pinch of paranormal. A dash of time travel. A deliciously outrageous look at the inner workings of an art museum.

Something Down There - Nancy Widrew

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Synopsis:

Horror erupts when newlyweds, Karen and Jeremy, cross paths with members of a diabolical cult inside a West Virginia cave. Living below the earth’s surface has triggered mutations, rendering the cult members nearly infertile. Their leader, a wild-eyed, cunning brute, refuses to let the couple leave, believing they and their potential offspring hold the key to surviving underground. Are Karen and Jeremy doomed to spend their lives inside this sunless, subterranean wasteland, or do they escape before their minds shatter and their bodies betray them?
Convenience - Andrew Mackay

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Synopsis:

Meet Willy gee.
He's the public restroom janitor at the Kaleidoscope shopping mall.

His is a workplace where civilians go to relieve themselves.
Where babies get changed.
Where strangers go to play...
… and a host of bodily fluids go to rest.

Willy is great at his job.
He keeps everything in working order.
Until today.

Come spend the day with Willy on his day shift.
He's losing his mind...
... in the very last place you'd want a mind to get lost.

You’ll love this vomitorium of despair, repulsion and psychological terror.

Will you be able to finish Convenience...
... or will it finish you?

November - Ian K Pickup

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Synopsis:

Pull up a chair, turn down the light and prepare to be introduced first hand to fear and fiendish foes.

From deals with the devil to a cursed lake crossing, Ian K Pickup harnesses the hell hounds that lurk closer than one might think and unleashes them upon the desperate. From the down and out to the downright greedy, nobody is safe from the evil that lurks closer than they ever feared.

NO MORE MISTER PUNCH
Something sinister lurks in the darkness... Author Ian Pickup delivers a new batch of horror with his living, murderous Punch doll, ghosts luring people over cliffs, ghastly monks, and more. You don't have to believe in the evil, for the evil to believe in you.

SIX WINTER AND CHRISTMAS STORIES OF THE SUPERNATURAL
The festive season is upon us, and most people will be preparing for an expected guest on Christmas Eve. But prepare yourself, because the visitors in these seasonal stories aren’t who you might be expecting.

So get cosy with a nice warm drink and settle in to enjoy these haunting tales. But remember not to brave the wilds outside when you finish, because there may be more than you bargain for waiting in the snow...

REVENGE OF THE WITCHES
Around every corner...in busy hospital wards and seemingly empty houses, in bustling city streets and spooky woodland glades...the witches are waiting.

Waiting to reap their revenge.

Do you dare to challenge the witches?

WRECKERS OF TALLAND BAY
From vengeful ravens and mischievous imps to ghastly ghosts and vicious vampires, these short reads will leave your hair standing on end as you wonder... Just who are the wreckers of Talland Bay?

RECONNECTED TELEPHONE
Haunted artefacts...the hunted become the hunters...the terrors of the unconscious mind... Ian K Pickup presents five more short stories guaranteed to have you sleeping with the light on, if you ever sleep again. And remember, don't touch that dial...

NOVEMBRO
Help me. They're out there. They're coming to get me.
Or is it all in my head?

Am I willing to take that chance?

Monday Motivation 4 Things to Remember

 Motivation

[moh-tuh-vey-shuh n]

noun

1.the act or an instance of motivating, or providing with a reason to act in a certain way:

I don't understand what her motivation was for quitting her job.

Synonyms: motive, inspiration, inducement, cause, impetus.

 2.the state or condition of being motivated or having a strong reason to act or accomplish something:

We know that these students have strong motivation to learn.

3.something that motivates; inducement; incentive:

Clearly, the company's long-term motivation is profit.

We writers talk a lot about motivation, and what motivates us to create. 

Like other creatives, that initial act of creation is one of the loneliest endeavors someone can undertake. Writers, like painters, sculptures, singers, and filmmakers, all start the process alone as we coax the initial spark into something we can be proud of sharing with the world. This is the most fragile time for any artist, especially new artists working on their first project, when the only feedback available is their own. 

After all who wants to share a first draft of anything, with anyone?

It is in this initial stage that more artists than we realize fail and never take another step forward. This is the make it or break it point in their budding careers. But it's also a necessary step. Everyone starts somewhere, some fail and push on, while others chuck it all and turn their energies to something easier. 

Once you've gotten past the initial stage it doesn't get any easier, especially if you're looking to hone your craft and take your work to the next level. Even as you climb toward lofty peaks you will reach plateaus that you feel you will never escape from. But you persist, and you do escape, to take your work to the next level. 

Even at this stage some will stop and accept what they have so far achieved. Believing they can go no further.That's where they're wrong. Only by accepting what you have now will you fail to reach your full potential. 

The following are four very important lessons I've learned over the years. 

4 Things every artist should remember.

Look back only to motivate yourself, don't dwell in the past. 

Don't compare yourself to others in your field.  

Don't accept anything less than your best, if you've done the best you can.

Don't be afraid to dream big. 

What would you add to this list?

Free Read Friday: Covenant Part V

Covenant

Some promises can not be broken.

Authors note:

We are nearing the end of this one, and I would like to apologize again for vanishing for nearly two months. Keep in mind this is a first draft, editing is at best very minimal, this is how I write. After the story is done and has had time to stew, as it were, I'll go back over it to adjust the narrative. 

If you've been enjoying what you've read why don't you stop by my one of my Author Pages listed below to check out my other work. 

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Itunes

Read this story from the beginning to this point HERE!

Without further adieu I give you part 5 of Covenant .

But the harsh reality of what he’d experienced was right there on his hand. Maybe he’d cut it in the phone booth while he was dreaming, after all it had to be a dream, it wasn’t possible for that murky bar to be in his basement. At this he pushed open the door and leaned out to gaze at the familiar surroundings of his basement.

It was a dream, nothing more, the stress of caring for Patricia was taking its toll. The time for his decision about her future was drawing closer with every breath he took.

“Promise me!” the memory of their argument that day in the cemetery surfaced in his mind. He took a step back, just as he had that day, the ferocity of her desire threatening to overwhelm him.

What could he do?

“Archie,” her voice shrieked from the baby monitor in his hand and he looked at it as he glanced again at the watch on his wrist. This time he had been gone for nearly six hours. His heart sank at the thought that she had been left alone for so long.

“You promised,” She cried out, the baby monitor vibrating in time with her voice. 

He raced from the basement, taking the stairs at a dead run, becoming winded before he reached the top, but he pushed on as his heart trip hammered in his chest. Nearly staggering down the hallway he came to her door where he stopped with his hand on the knob as he struggled to catch his breath and compose himself.

When he pushed into the room he found her sitting up in her bed, watching him with the same mischievous expression he’d fallen in love with. Though her face was lined with age, and her hair had been bleached by the passing of the years, she looked more alive than she ever had since the onset of her disease.

“It’s about time,” she said in a perfectly normal voice as he nearly dropped to his knees at her bedside.

“You do recall what we talked about?”

He could only nod silently, his heart filled with joy and sadness in equal measures. She had come back to him, it was a miracle, and then he stopped. Or was it just an extension of the dream he’d been living in the basement.

“You understand what you have to do?”

“I can’t,” he answered honestly.

“But you must.” She slid across the bed and swung her legs over the side, planting her feet firmly on the floor in front of him, then she was kneeling next to him, her small hand hot and tender on his back as she leaned in close. He could smell her, the scent of Ivory soap strong on her flesh, masking the sour stench of her approaching death.

“Don’t let me suffer anymore, I’ve grown weary with this life, this disease has robbed me of my memories, it has taken my past. Please don’t let it win.”

A shadow passed over the day at the mention of her disease and he looked up at the window. The day that had once been bright and cheery had grown dark and overcast, with gray clouds drifting low to the ground, mimicking his sorrow. He felt first one, then another tear as they traced twin paths down his cheeks.

“I can’t,” he said, snuffling into the sleeve of his shirt, “how can you ask me to hurt the one I love.”

“Is it love to keep me like this, to let the shadows take all that I had been?”

“I can’t,” he shouted as he pushed himself to his feet, “you can’t ask me to do this.” He stepped back from her bed where she was sleeping peacefully, a serene expression on her face, the dwindling light of evening retreating from the shadows that were growing long and thick in the corners of the room.

It had just been another dream, her kneeling beside him, talking to him in that lost voice. As he watched her sleep he noticed that her eyes were moving rapidly back and forth beneath her closed eyelids. From outside came the rumble of thunder and the darkness deepened as gray clouds obscured the face of the dropping sun. From the shadowy corners of her room came low growls that grew from the night.

He turned away from her sleeping figure to find himself in that bar once again. She was standing at the other end of the shadowy room, that vibrant blue dress faded somewhat, her red hair had lost some of its luster, lying flat against her skull. Her face was gaunt, withdrawn, her cheekbones more prominent than before, her once sparkling eyes were now dull and lifeless orbs resting in shadowy basins.

“You made a promise,” she said, lifting her withered arm to point one crooked finger at him. The patrons at the bar on his left roiled and growled as she shouted. Outside a flash of lightning whipped across the sky followed by a tremendous crack that split the night sky open and sent a tremor through his soul.

The roof of the bar was ripped away, exposing the dark clouds that churned in a maelstrom above their heads.

“You promised,” she shouted over the rising voice of the wind, her rage whispering across the sky, a thick bolt of lightning that danced upon the canvas of  agitated clouds. Branching out, dividing again and again until they surrounded them in a prison of bars that caressed the ground and filled the air with the heavy scent of ozone.

“I can’t,” he replied, cringing from the dancing streaks of lightning that were now trapped in the moment of their creation.

To be continued 

 

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This Week In Horror 11/07/2017

Chillingworth Mews: A supernatural horror novel by Anton Palmer

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Synopsis:

Following a near fatal car crash, Roger Davies - a psychic whose gift has been more of a curse than a blessing - is given a second chance at life. After forging a pact with the dead to become a weapon of retribution for those souls who suffered a violent end, his mission brings him into contact with Chillingworth Mews and the evil within senses an opportunity to finally break free from its prison of bricks and mortar...

Splatterpunk Fighting Back by Bracken MacLeod and 8 others

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Synopsis:

A row with a boyfriend leads to unexpected and bloody consequences...
A high powered CEO undertakes a highly unusual therapy to take his career to the next level…
A mother frantically searches for the child as the world burns…

Featuring new fiction by Adam Millard, Matt Shaw, Bracken MacLeod, John Boden, Duncan Ralston, Rich Hawkins, Glenn Rolfe, George Daniel Lea, Tim Curran, WD Gagliani & Dave Benton and Kristopher Rufty.

A charity anthology.

Edited by Jack Bantry & Kit Power

Between The Wolves & The Sheep by Jax Cortez

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Synopsis:

Two child victims, no clues. “The Eraser” has struck again for a third time. Can Detective David Johnson hold his marriage together long enough to solve the case with a town on the edge, the media circus on his heels, and now an unexpected tragedy unfolding right before his eyes? In a world where David thought he was safe being a cop, nothing could ever prepare him for what he is about to experience.

Spirits Unchained: Five Haunting Stories About the African-American Experience by Sedrie Danielle

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Synopsis:

Five chilling stories about the African-American experience during the slavery period.
What happened to the man who lost his way while attempting to escape?
What it really a star that Lady Moses followed?
What was Tituba's true fate?
Vampire Orphanage by Patrica Mattern

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Synopsis:

Marley and Tom are the perfect couple. To see them, you may not even notice that while Tom is human, Marley is a dhamphir, a half vampire. They're just a friendly couple who want a home in the country, filled with laughing, happy children.

Unfortunately they are unable to have any children of their own, so they decide to adopt. After all, there are so many children who need good homes.

​They begin to adopt homeless, needy vampire orphans. What children could possibly be more in need of a loving home? In a short time they are delighted to wind up with a baker's dozen. But these rescued kids come with their own baggage: sires, enemies and dangerous secrets that threaten to tear their new family apart.

Will this blended group become a truly happy, loving, integrated family? Will they be able to survive their differences and the dangers lurking around every dark corner? Find out for yourself why Tom and Marley love their sometimes distrustful and always dangerous children, and why they will do anything to keep their family together.

Monday Motivational: Bouncing Back

In September I took a one week vacation from my day job. I had plans to finish a number of things around the house, start the body work on my truck, finish one novel, and start another. Right! Ever hear the expression best laid plans of mice and men?

That was me, with nine days in a row off I didn't a accomplish a single thing. Never touched my truck, nor did I get to the things I wanted to do around the house. Didn't finish the novel until mid October, and was not able to start the next one until this month.

To say I hit a wall would be an understatement.

I've struggled with depression in the past, I've taken several different medications but never liked the way they made me feel. I've learned how to keep the darkness at bay. But in September it knocked the crap out of me. I still functioned, I got up each morning, went through my day like always, but the desire just wasn't there. I didn't care if I finished the next book or not. I didn't care if I finished the story I was working on here.

Through September and the biggest part of October, I didn't do much of anything. But I'm back now. I'll never be better than ever, but I'm back for the foreseeable future, ready to get this story done so we can move onto the next one, and so on.

I just hope you're still willing to tag along.

Thanks,