Posts Tagged ‘Horror’

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Step into a world where the Pumpkin King reigns supreme, and other tales haunt your every thought.

Or step out of this world into the sheer terror of the unknowable and incomprehensible deep space.

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The Pumpkin King and Other Tales of Terror

by R. David Fulcher

Genre: Horror Short Stories

Gravelight is pleased to present the first volume in a two-book series collecting the horror fiction of R. David Fulcher!
THE PUMPKIN KING AND OTHER TALES OF TERROR offers up 20 works by Fulcher, each updated and revised by the author. Each tale has been fully revised by the author, making these the definitive versions of the stories.
The collection Includes

*Eulogy to E.A. Poe

*Marienburg Castle

*The Pumpkin King

*Heavenly Strains

*A Matter of Taste

*My Days With Mahalia

*A Night Out With Mr. Bones

*Merry Are We of the Lake

*The Night Flyer

*Pumpkin Seed Spit

*A Night for Animals

*The Man Next Door

*Extra! Extra!

*The Flight Dummy

*For the Children

*The Watcher’s Web

*Dreaming, The Copper City

*The Huntress

*The Faerie Lights

*The October Man

Features a wrap-around cover and contemporary design. Perfect for Halloween or dark, rainy nights.

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Amazon * Bookbub * Goodreads

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Asteroid 6 and Other Tales of Cosmic Horror

by R. David Fulcher

Genre: Science Fiction Horror Short Stories

Introducing
ASTEROID 6 AND OTHER TALES OF COSMIC HORROR! The companion book to R. David
Fulcher’s 2023 indie horror hit, THE PUMPKIN KING AND OTHER TALES OF TERROR!
In this newest collection, Fulcher explores concepts of the insignificance of
human existence, terror of the unknowable and incomprehensible, and more motifs
found in edlritch horror. Fulcher draws his influence from a wide assortment of
authors ranging from Poe and Fritz Leiber to Stephen King and Dean Koontz.
The title story features an astronaut named Jones who, while on
asteroid-clearing duty, crash lands onto a massive asteroid where he is drawn
to an alien monolith and discovering an ancient race trapped in stasis. Does he
dare set it free?
Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind collection!

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R. DAVID FULCHER is an author of horror, science fiction, fantasy, and poetry. Major literary influences include H.P. Lovecraft, Dean Koontz, Edgar Allen Poe, Fritz Lieber, and Stephen King. Fulcher’s first novel, a historical drama set in World War II, Trains to Nowhere, and his second novel, a collection of fantasy and science fiction short stories, Blood Spiders and Dark Moon, are both available from authorhouse.com and Amazon.

FULCHER’S work has appeared in numerous small press publications including Lovecraft’s Mystery Magazine, Black Satellite, The Martian Wave, Burning Sky, Shadowlands, Twilight Showcase, Heliocentric Net, Gateways, Weird Times, Freaky Frights and the anthologies Dimensions and Silken Ropes. Fulcher’s work can also be found in the DPP collection Halloween Party 2019, available at Amazon and at the DPP online store. A passion for the written word has also inspired Fulcher to edit and publish the literary magazine, Samsara (samsaramagazine.net), which has showcased writers and poets for over a decade. Fulcher resides in Ashburn, Virginia, with his wife Lisa, and their rambunctious cats.

Website * X * Instagram * Goodreads

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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

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For a list of my reviews go HERE.

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Will Logan and his friends expose the lies that have haunted him for years, or will they be Dragged Down Deep into the swampy, secretive underbelly of a town that guards its mysteries with deadly intent?

 

 

 

Title: Dragged Down Deep

Author: Michael Okon

Pages: 331

Genre: Action Adventure/Monster

Logan Osborne has spent his life chasing the shadows of the past.

As a child, he watched helplessly as his father was snatched from a fishing boat by what he swore was a mermaid. No one believed him then. No one believes him now.

Determined to prove that mythical creatures exist, Logan is drawn back to the small coastal town where his nightmares began after another mysterious disappearance stirs the waters.

Teaming up with his pragmatic colleague Elliot Sheppard and his fiercely loyal friend Penny Swanson, Logan dives headfirst into an adventure packed with danger and deception. As they dig deeper, the trio faces resistance at every turn—a secretive agency with its own agenda, a suspiciously unhelpful police force, and Logan’s old flame, who may know more than she’s letting on.

What they uncover is far darker and more terrifying than Logan ever imagined: the truth about his father, the secrets of Minatuck, and the horrifying reality of the Mermaid of the Hamptons.

Will Logan and his friends expose the lies that have haunted him for years, or will they be Dragged Down Deep into the swampy, secretive underbelly of a town that guards its mysteries with deadly intent?

Dragged Down Deep is available at Amazon.

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MY REVIEW

I’m always searching for the next cryptid story. I even watch those cheesy documentaries where they search for mythical creatures. And Michael Okon is one of my favorite authors on the things that stay hidden, that prowl those hard to reach places. I’ve read all his books and when I spotted this one it was a no brainer. A mermaid? A killer mermaid? I was all in!

This had everything I could have hoped for. Big Brother cover ups. Threats of death around every corner. Believable characters that you can empathize with. Worthy villains. And a creature that mesmerized and terrified me in equal measures. The suspense was almost continuous.

Michael takes you from the past to the present throughout the book. His choice of telling the story that way was dead on. Kept me so invested in wanting to know all about the characters and the events that occurred. When I finished reading Dragged Down Deep, which is a perfect title, I felt like I could have been watching the movie. I could imagine myself sitting in the dark, the surround sound cranked up, hugging a pillow and covering my face with my hands, peeking between my fingers so I wouldn’t miss anything.

Bravo, Michael. You continue to make this lover of all things cryptid happy.

5 STARS

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Book Excerpt

The creature was indistinct in the dark night. A howl split the air, the noise somewhere between the lolling of a cow and with the shrillness of a siren. It traveled through Logan, making the fillings in his teeth hurt. If an elephant and a Tasmanian devil had a baby, it would have sounded like this, Logan thought inanely.

     It began to move purposely toward them, its arms outstretched. Its eyes shone like blazing yellow neon, mesmerizing them. There was no place to hide in the tidal pool. Logan spun, pushing Elliot toward the parking lot. 

     “That was no turtle,” Elliot gasped. 

     Logan ran, his heart pumping feeling like it would jump from his chest. “Run!” he yelled.

     They splashed heavily in the shallows; their feet weighted with water. Clamoring through the tide, Logan slipped, Elliot pulled him under the armpit propelling him forward. Their clothes were drenched, glued to their perspiring bodies, their feet heavy with trapped fronds and weeds. They made it onto the beach.

     Logan was afraid to look behind them. “Move this way!” Logan pointed to a perimeter of shrubs lining the sand.

     They took off, their arms slashed by the tall grasses. Elliot clutched his phone. He turned for a second, but Logan grabbed the back of his shirt to drag him through the reeds. “Not now, you idiot!” Logan screamed.

     They could hear the heavy splashes of the creature following them. They burst out of the grasses, running at full speed onto the sandy area toward the car. The reassuring outline of the jeep greeted them at the same time a club grazed Logan’s shoulder. 

     Logan heard Elliot grunt with pain, the distinct sound of a fist meeting flesh echoing in the still night. Ham-sized hands gripped Logan’s shoulder, spinning him to plant a fist that landed under his right eye. The night went silent but for the sound of the roaring of the blood in his head. He felt the trickle of blood leak onto his lips after his nose connected with what felt like a brick wall. He was on his knees, looking down at two sets of biker boots, silver skulls dangling over the insteps right in front of him. 

     Logan caught sight of another pair of footwear, polished traditional lace-ups. He pushed himself up on all fours, reaching out and grabbing the legs connected to those shoes. He clutched a handful of beige trousers, the gabardine material slipping in his hand. He recognized the uniform. He felt rock-hard muscles underneath the pants leg. His assaulter kicked, Logan’s head snapping back to see a field of spinning stars. Their attackers were laughing. Logan was outraged. 

     They wouldn’t be laughing when the mermaid from hell pounced on them, he thought grogilly. He opened his mouth to let them know they were about to be surprised by the alleged wild dog or imaginary alligator but decided he’d have more satisfaction watching them wrestle with whatever was following them from the marsh. 

      A strong hand picked him up by the hair and another pounded his ribcage. He winced, his vision blurred, trying to see when the creature from the Black Lagoon would arrive like the cavalry.

     Except that pursuer never arrived. It appeared that the monster had more brains than he and Elliot put together. 

     Logan listened vainly for whatever was following them to break through the marsh, but it must have been scared off. He chose that time to swing wildly, his fist finding a face that must have been hewn of stone. The impact stunned him more than the beating his ribs were taking. His arm went numb from knuckles to elbow. 

     His cheek landed in the dirt while Elliot was thrown against the car wheel. A baseball bat made contact with the windshield, showering them with shards of glass. The bat sailed through the air to smash the side mirror. More glass rained down on them.

Logan lay on his face, every bone in his body aching, his head heavy. He heard new footfalls, lighter one, followed by the sound of a plank of wood connecting with a body.

“Ow!” one of his attackers howled. 

Next he heard several grunts, and the hard slam of bodies falling. 

Logan picked up his head, his vision fuzzy to see two figures in wetsuits beating the crap out of his assailants. Tilting his head, he squeezed his eyes, discerning one was decidedly curvy and feminine. “Penny?” he asked, the word garbled by his swelling lips.

Running feet penetrated the fog that was swallowing his brain. Everything sounded muffled, as if he could barely hear it. There was a loud ringing in his ears.

“Done,” a woman’s voice came to him from far away. “Cowards,” she spat. 

“What do you want to do with these too?” a male voice asked. 

“Leave them. They’re harmless.”

“The boss isn’t going to be happy.”

“I said leave them,” the voice commanded. 

Logan tried to rise, groaned and fell down into the wet sand. “Elliot?” his voice a thread.

“He’s coming around. We have to go!” a man’s barked.

The cold touch of a wetsuit made his skin goosebump as a person knelt next to him. He tried to roll over. Logan felt a soft hand brush back his hair. “Stop tilting at windmills, you silly man. Go back to school.” He caught sight of a smile with a mole on the upper lip.

Logan felt the blood drain from his head as it fell onto a cushion of grass. 

     “Did you see them?” Logan spit out a mouthful of dirt. He was sprawled on a small mound and couldn’t move.

     “My eye is swollen shut,” Elliot’s voice was gravelly. “I feel like I got hit by a train. Am I imagining it, or were we rescued by the creature?”

      “It wasn’t the creature.” Logan was breathless with the effort, wondering if he should share what he thought. “I think it was Aimee.”

“Aimee!” Elliot coughed. “What’s she doing here?”

Logan ignored the question; he was wondering the same thing. 

     Rising painfully to his knees he crawled over to where Elliot was propped against the wheel of the jeep. “Anything broken?”

     “Only my pride. I feel like I’m trapped in an eighties crime drama. What are you doing?” he asked Logan, who was pulling his phone from his pocket with a battered hand.

     “I’m calling the police.”

     “I think that was the police,” Elliot retorted weakly. “What happened to your mermaid?”

     Logan growled, “She’s not my mermaid.” 

     “Did you get any pictures?” Logan asked.

     “Let me see with my good eye.” Elliot squinted as he looked at his screen. “Nothing good. Maybe it was one of those goons setting us up.”

     Logan shrugged. “I couldn’t see much, but I know it was that monster, Mitch and his playmates,” he paused and continued, “And Aimee and some other guy.”

      “You think she was working with them?”

      Logan shook his head. “No, they beat the crap out of them. Mitch practically crawled out of here.”

      “Are you sure it was Aimee? This is a major complication.”

      Logan didn’t answer. He spoke into his phone. “Pen? Can you swing by the marsh, and Penny… don’t say anything to anyone.”

– Excerpted from Dragged Down Deep by Michael Okon, Chelshire Publishing, 2024. Reprinted with permission.

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Watch the Trailer

 

About Author Michael Okon

 

 

Michael Okon is an award-winning and best-selling author of multiple genres, including paranormal, thriller, horror, action/adventure, and self-help. He graduated from Long Island University with a degree in English and then later received his MBA in business and finance. Coming from a family of writers, he has storytelling in his DNA. Michael has been writing from as far back as he can remember, his inspiration being his love for films and their impact on his life. From the time he saw The Goonies, he was hooked on the idea of entertaining people through unforgettable characters.

Michael is a lifelong movie buff, a music playlist aficionado, and a sucker for self-help books. He lives on the North Shore of Long Island with his wife and children.

Website & Social Media: Website / Twitter / Instagram

 

 

 

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For a list of my reviews go HERE.

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Today Mallory McCartney, Anuci Press, and Rockstar Book Tours are
revealing the cover for THE EXCHANGE & OTHER CALAMITIES, her Horror
Anthology book which releases July 22nd! Check out the awesome cover and enter
the giveaway!

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On to the reveal! 

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THE EXCHANGE & OTHER CALAMITIES

Author: Mallory McCartney

Pub. Date: July 22, 2025

Publisher: Anuci Press

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Find it: Goodreads 

 

Evil lurks in the darkness, clawing its way towards unsuspecting
victims… 
 

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A woman living with fibromyalgia finds an artifact that unleashes a
reality she never thought possible… at a steep price.
 

Two high school seniors take part in a tradition that brings them face to
face with the monstrous truth behind a haunting dark urban legend. 

The face behind a popular Youtube ghost hunting show travels to the scene
of a horrific event to find fresh horrors await there. 
 

Fate takes a bite out of a young woman who ventures into the wilderness
to grieve her mother.
 

Best-selling author, Theo Anderson, takes part in a sleep study that
turns her into the very thing she fears.

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Hold your breath as you immerse yourself in five harrowing stories
written by best-selling author, Mallory McCartney. Fans of her gripping Black
Dawn Series
will be kept on the edge of their seat by this horror
collection inspired by real life events!


“Mrs. McCartney has boldly taken her first foray into
horror, and I’m proud to say it’s ridiculously fun. I’ve read my fair share of
horror, but McCartney writes in a way that made even my stomach turn at points.
It takes a lot of skill to successfully create an atmosphere suitable for the
horrific things happening throughout this book, but she does it here and then
some, making you feel like you’re smackdab in the middle of it all. By the time
I turned the last page I felt like I’d been put through the wringer, and I
can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.”
Patrick Delaney author of Witch
13, The House that Fell from the Sky
 

 

Enjoy this peek inside:

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“I shut the mirror with a click and froze. Fear dripped
through me, starting at the crown of my head and dousing my body so completely,
my mind went blank. A scream lodged firmly in my throat—I couldn’t utter a
sound. Fire and ice raced through my veins, churning my stomach, and bile rose
in my throat.

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Fingers had appeared from thin air, and they grew and morphed
into inky claws. They curled over my shoulder and gripped it hard. Then, with
pallid skin, the rest of the intruder appeared.”

 

“The creature’s grip only hardened.

My eyes rolled back. My lungs screamed for oxygen, for
release. In our reflection, which I caught in blurred moments, my face was
purple, my mouth hanging open in a silent scream. The creature pulled me
closer. Its other arm wrapped around my waist. Where before it had no defined
eye sockets, there now sat two massive orbs.

And they burned red.”

 

“Something moved to my left. My steps faltered, and my
response faded. It was the middle of the day, but in the hallway, the shadows
deepened. On the wall in front of me, the painting was of a man wearing a
collared shirt and a serious expression. His gaunt cheekbones made his eyes
look more sunken. The bland yellow background with nothing in it drew the
viewer in, but cast a greenish hue to the whole picture. He looked sick. The
whole painting did.

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My bottom lip trembled and I bit it so hard, the metallic
taste of blood filled my mouth.

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Stepping closer to the painting, I watched as blood—real
blood—poured from this man’s eyes, words appearing to write themselves along
his chest:

You are mine now.”

 

 

About Author Mallory McCartney:

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Mallory McCartney currently lives in Sarnia, Ontario with her
husband, their dachshunds Link, and Leonard and their sphynx cats Luna,
Legolas, Ivy and Lily. When she isn’t working on her next novel or reading, she
can be found day dreaming about fantasy worlds or bingeing her favorite horror
movies.

Website
| Twitter | Facebook | Facebook
Group
| Instagram
| TikTok | Goodreads
| Amazon | BookBub

 

 

 

 

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The Garden of Before
by Ryan Leslie

 

(The Between, #2)
Published by: Parliament House Press
Publication date: September 23rd 2025
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Horror

“That’s what happens here, Paul. Every power has its price. It always gets worse.”

For Paul Prentice things have gotten much worse. His house was destroyed in the battle with the Koŝmaro. He’s on thin ice at his job, where instead of working he loses himself in the Between’s computer game, trying in vain to find explanations. His best friend Jay has transformed into a shadowy killer. Corinne and Supriya have vanished. And it appears his wife, Julie, has finally had enough and left him.

Alone and near ruin, Paul receives a familiar visitor with a dire message: they are all back in the Between. Hunted, captured, doomed. For Paul, still wearing the serĉilo’s artifact on his wrist, escape was never an option. The game must be played until the end.

In the harrowing conclusion to The Between, Leslie once again invites readers into a mind-twisting world where the most terrifying monsters are the ones let loose inside of us.

Add to Goodreads / Pre-order

 

About Author Ryan Leslie:

Ryan Leslie oversees research for a large health system, where making stuff up is generally frowned upon. His creative outlet has always been writing fiction. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, children’s author Lindsay Leslie, and their two sons.

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Website / Goodreads / Twitter

 

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For a list of my reviews go HERE.

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Avenge Me

by Tamela Miles

 

Publication date: December 30th 2024
Genres: Adult, Horror, Paranormal

Hands Clean: Afterburner
A costly mistake, that set in motion a horrific chain of events, seemingly have Lili paying for eternity. One being, walking the world’s oldest streets and dirt pathways, has the power to save her – if there is any of her soul left to save.

Witch Bitch: Assassin
To the people in Mason’s world, Luna deserves every bit of sympathy as his grieving girlfriend. But does she, really? A long buried and probably best forgotten secret fuels the fire of a vengeance that keeps Mason alive and guarantees the demise of unfortunate others.

GPS
Zayne is having a bad week. He’s lost his girlfriend, his part time job, and he’s failing two classes. The only bright spot in his life is time spent in his car, talking with his technologically enhanced GPS. The navigation system seems to truly know and understand him. It also knows things, dark things, that may put him on the path towards an evil force that just won’t quit.

XO
Lauryn is not the girl she used to be. Her demanding life as a struggling, single mom takes its toll and leads to a night out with friends and poor choices – choices that open a door to an otherworldly force that’s straddling the fine line between not so good and ungodly.

Hotel Paper
Las Vegas is losing its charm, but Zach and Paris decide to stick around for one more unforgettable night of sin. He finds himself in her embrace in the darkest of ways and begins to question how well he knows Paris – and how well he knows himself.

**This is a short story collection that is closely related to Tamela’s last release, Kiss Me Deadly

Amazon

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Enjoy this peek inside:

(from the short story, “Hands Clean: Afterburner”)

Perry, as he was better known, stood on a grassy hill, overlooking the expanse of the beach and the churning waves just past sunset. Warm fur rubbing against his ankles reminded him he wasn’t alone, and he looked down with a gentle smile. A black cat weaved her away around his legs, purring loudly and looking up at him expectantly.

“Calling you “Cat” sounds straight ridiculous, but you refuse to tell me your name.”

The cat meowed and he chuckled. “Fine. Just “Cat”, it is.” He lifted her into his arms and rubbed noses. “It’s not often I ask animals to do my dirty work, so I thank you and promise to feed you.” Perry locked eyes with the cat and spoke softly in her mind. “Do you remember the plan? Are you ready to strike? When you get to the bar, be sure to give me a visual.”

At her reassuring purr, he put her down and let her run to her destination. He kept his eyes trained on the huge wood door of the Blue Rose bar, which stood several yards from his position on the beach hill. Cat approached the bar’s entrance and sat on the walkway, patiently waiting, as she licked a paw. Soon enough, the heavy door swung open, and a laughing couple emerged from the bar. Cat darted inside the dimly lit front area and, within seconds, gave him the visual he needed.

Perry almost immediately spotted his target, seated at a table with a large man. She was unchanged, both in face and body, even after a millennium.

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About Author Tamela Miles:

Tamela Miles is a school psychologist with Ed.S degree and a graduate of California State University San Bernardino and California State University Dominguez Hills. She is also a former flight attendant. She grew up in Altadena, California in that tumultuous time known as the 1980s. She now resides with her family in the Inland Empire, CA. She’s a horror/paranormal romance writer mainly because it feels so good having her characters do bad things and, later, pondering what makes them so bad and why they can never seem to change their wicked ways.

She enjoys emails from people who like her work. In fact, she loves emails. She can be contacted at tamelamiles@yahoo.com or her Facebook page, Tamela Miles Books. She also welcomes reader reviews and enjoys the feedback from people who love to read as much as she does.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / Amazon

 

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To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

 

Inked in Blood and Memory

by Allison Ivy

 

 

Publication date: December 3rd 2024
Genres: Horror, LGBTQ+, New Adult

Recluse Sophie Vanguard’s winter cabin retreat turns ominous when blue flowers mysteriously appear. They’re everywhere. On her front porch, in kitchen cabinets, and even on her pillow. It isn’t long before chilling whispers echo in the halls, and her journal repeats seven unsettling entries.

Enter the bloodied and beautifully eccentric Ly Thi Ren. Though Ren seems familiar, Sophie refuses to believe the girl’s insistence that they are trapped inside a book.

In a land of fiction, truth and lies blur together, clear decisions are marred by doubt, and shared family trauma lurks just below the surface.

Can Ren and Sophie make it out alive? Or will they end up nothing more than words inked in blood and memory?

With elements of gothic horror, splatterpunk, romance, and fantasy, Inked in Blood and Memory is a self-aware LGBTQ+ horror that wraps its clutches around the reader and doesn’t let go.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

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Enjoy this peek inside:

You never forget your first ritual sacrifice. So why had I? That seems like something you’d remember. It’s not something most American families gather for.

Hey, Má. Could you pass the rau răm? Oh, and what time is the sacrifice tonight?

And yet, I had forgotten. I had forgotten the little things, too. My mother’s laugh, her abrupt chortles that often devolved into giggles. My childhood nickname.

We eat pho the night our own parents sacrifice one of my best friends. It’s weird what sticks with you after years of trying to forget. We eat in silence, though I haven’t yet realized the reason for the solemn mood. My nine-year-old brain doesn’t quite grasp the idea of “sacrifice.” I can’t wait to wear my new ceremonial cloak. I begged my parents to let me wear it through dinner, but they refused.

“It’s too special,” they say. “You don’t want to ruin it, do you, con gái?”

No, I don’t want that. Still, my eyes wander to the piece of clothing that hangs on the coat tree next to the front door. The intricate symbols fascinate me. The only other place I’ve seen them is on the book. Not just any book. The book.

I get to see it on special occasions during the four months out of the year our family guards it. The other eight months are split between two additional families. My best friends’, Sophie Vanguard and Jeremy Berg-Nilsen.

We’ll join them later for the ceremony or the “thanksgiving,” but not that Thanksgiving. We are not pilgrims, but our three families are special. Chosen. And today, Jeremy is the most special.

“Ông xã, are you sure this is the only way?” Má squeezes Ba’s arm.

Ba remains quiet for so long I almost ask him if he’s heard Má. I’m not sure what she means by her question or why it’s gotten even quieter than before.

Ba answers before I speak. “It’s too late to back out. Maybe we could have years ago, but not now. This is how we keep our family safe.” He kisses my mother’s hand and stands to clear the plates.

I knit my brows together. Why are they so serious? It’s like they’re sad. But it’s the day of the thanksgiving. They should be happy.

Later that night, I beam proudly in my cloak with the strange symbols, relishing the feel of the velvet hem between my fingertips. Incense burns in a corner, permeating the air with a smoky aroma that I’ve always hated, but it reminds me of the days we celebrate the four equinoxes.

The adults hug and talk amongst themselves excitedly. All but Mrs. Berg-Nilsen, Jeremy’s mom. She stands against the wall, keeping to herself. Her long blonde hair covers most of her face, but I can tell her cheeks are wet.

I ponder this as I sit cross-legged on the antique rug with Jeremy in his family’s living room. We sip Capri-Suns and talk about what we think will happen in a few minutes.

“Happy birthday, Jeremy,” Sophie says after arriving with her parents and barreling through the adults’ legs. She holds a cloak that matches mine out behind her as she runs like she’s a superhero or a bat and plops down on the rug between us.

“Thanks, Sophie,” Jeremy mumbles, staring at his Capri-Sun.

Of the three of us, Sophie is the most frenetic. I think that’s the word Ba used. The adults are always hiding the sugar from her. She channels her chaotic energy for good most of the time. At school this past week, a couple kids from our grade cornered Jeremy. Sophie took me by the hand and came to Jeremy’s aid, not letting up until the kids backed off.

“Why is your mom crying?” I ask Jeremy.

His eyes move from his drink to his shoes, and he tugs at the laces. “Dad says she’s happy, but she won’t look at me.”

“Grownups are weird,” I say, watching Jeremy’s parents lead the rest into the kitchen.

“I think I did something real bad,” Jeremy says.

The door swings closed, and I’m on my feet, ignoring Sophie’s questions and drawn to the conversation happening behind the closed door.

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About Author Allison Ivy:

Allison Ivy writes under a pen name and grew up reading a book a day. She graduated from Penn State with a B.A. in English and a Creative Writing certificate. She currently lives in Connecticut and listens to far too many show tunes and DVD commentaries. The Dragon and the Double-Edged Sword is her first novel.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / X / TikTok

 

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Giveaway contest ribbon promo label prize. Vector giveaway banner badge design template

.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

,

~~~~~

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

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Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for The Vicious And The Virile VII organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.

Author Luki Belle will award a $10 Amazon or B&N Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner. Don’t forget to enter!

And you can click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

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The Vicious And The Virile VII

by Luki Belle

 

 

Genre: Dark Fantasy

Synopsis

A collection of short horror stories, The Vicious and The Virile VII offers a captivating combination of unique and varied short stories emblematic of the dark fantasy genre.

Karan Lloyd Hamilton: when touring a fictitious national park in India a wealthy American couple, Judas and Priscilla Hamilton are attacked by tigers and get physically separated. The mortally wounded wife, pregnant with male twin, dies giving birth in the wilderness to healthy babies. Only one twin is found and returned to Judas who survived the attack. The grieving father returns to America with his newborn and the corpse of Priscilla. The boy, Karan Lloyd Hamilton, grows up to be a Wall Street investment banker. He bears a physical scar from his traumatic birth which has transformed Karan into a predator by night in the streets of Manhattan.

Kartik Shiv Yuvarajan: the second twin boy of Judas and Priscilla Hamilton did not die but was taken by the mystical tribe of the national park. The tribe hides the baby until he is stolen and given to a tour guide of the park, Arjun. Afraid of the consequences of taking the baby to the American embassy, Arjun adopts the child, gives him the name Kartik Shiv Yuvarajan and then returns to his ancestral village. Kartik bears a similar mark upon his body like his twin Karan. This mark brings about strange physiological changes in Kartik and leads to unexpected events that threatens his life in the village. Arjun must now decide whether to let Kartik know of his identity or whether to flee once again with the teenager.

Hounds of the Monks: a warrior flees with his family to save his daughter from the lustful, cruel king of the land. When the king’s army gives chase to bring back the young girl, the warrior separates from his wife and daughter to protect them. Mother and her girl seek shelter in a monastery only to realize that the holy surroundings may be equally dangerous.

Desert Frogs: a film producer with her adolescent twin sons and a film crew travel to a fictitious nation, Gapharkh, to shoot a few scenes in the country’s legendary desert. A civil war is imminent in Gapharkh between the military regime and the nomadic tribe of the desert. Unexpected connections quickly form between the twin boys and the nomads while the war heats up in the backdrop as the film crew rushes to complete their work. Discovering that there was a dark motive behind allowing the foreign film crew to shoot in the desert, the producer desperately tries to escape Gapharkh with her sons and her crew.

Stolen Princess: Rosemarie, a young woman rescued from prostitution, finds herself alone and homeless when her husband is lost at sea and her in-laws throw her out of her husband’s home. Rosemarie’s fate momentarily worsens when she is raped and almost killed but, miraculously, she is saved by strange old women who take Rosemarie to a secluded, enchanting island. The heavenly place seems like freedom until Rosemarie realizes that there are sinister forces around her who intend to keep her captive in the isle. Rosemarie’s past may be her only salvation.

Bastard of the Mist: Angeline a young widow, arrives at a remote and beautiful rehabilitation center for veterans to work as the assistant of the institution’s co-founder. Angeline is supernaturally gifted. Her dark powers clash with evil forces that exist in the forests surrounding the institution when she discovers a sinister plot by her employer Professor Kvalish, a man with a mysterious past. An unraveling thus begins and threatens the existence of everyone at the rehabilitation center.

Nature’s Call Girl: in a futuristic Earth a global war is ongoing between humankind and nature. Here, a fictitious country Parakrytheon, has built a nation devoid of plant and animals with artificially created weather to protect its humans from natural predators. On a fictitious island Kamin, humans live harmoniously with nature and beast. This place has the resources that Parakrytheon needs to defeat its natural enemy. Twin brothers Hagaath and Laksha, and their sister Kamina, are the means to this end.

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Enjoy this peek inside:

Excerpt from Story 3 – “Hounds of the Monks”

 

The doors of the monastery noisily opened as though the hinges had not been used in the longest time and lacked grease. Shamini slowly stood up and called to her daughter, but Zehera had fainted. Shamini was about to stoop down again when through the open wooden doors appeared a hooded monk in a brown garb, holding a thin candle in the grip of his bare palms, his arms cloaked under the bulky sleeves of his robe.

Shamini could not see the monk’s eyes which were covered under the garb’s hood. From the light of the candle’s flame, she saw that the person was a man, from his chiseled jawline, mouth, and chin.

“Holy monk…please help my daughter…please help us…there are hounds chasing us…please we are fleeing danger…” Shamini said frantically as she knelt beside Zehera.

“Zehera…my girl…Zehera…get up…look…we are safe…look!” Shamini nudged her daughter, gasped momentarily thinking the worst, then hastily put her ear against Zehera’s chest to listen; her daughter’s heart was still beating with life.

“She needs food and water!!” Shamini exclaimed and looked up desperately at the monk who was quietly standing by the door. She tried to lift up Zehera in her arms but lacked the strength to do so.

The door opened wider on its own and now Shamini could see a large rectangular empty room behind the monk.

The place was mostly dark except for at the far end, on the other side of the chamber, in front of an arched entrance, stood two more monks in hoods, holding tall candles in their hands.

“You may enter woman” said a deep youthful voice of the monk who stood by the monastery’s open doors.

“My daughter…” Shamini said in an exhausted tone still trying to lift up Zehera.

“Brothers!” the monk called loudly over his shoulder while placing the candle in his hands by the foot of the doors.

Quietly then the monk lifted Zehera in his arms and turned around.

“Go with my brethren” the monk said as he carried Zehera with him into the large rectangular room behind him.

“She is bleeding and badly injured! The dogs bit her…she has fainted…”Shamini said anxiously while following the monk. The other two monks were approaching her from the other direction, and they blocked her path.

“Your daughter is in holy care. Have faith” said the second monk.

“You woman must come with us” said the third monk “Your body is weak and your soul needs salvation.”

Their voices sounded almost like the first monk to Shamini, their tones were hypnotic. They stood around her,

hooded and taller than her. Their breaths smelled sweet, the fabric of their garbs exuded a flowery freshness, their lips bore faint smiles. Shamini watched as the first monk with Zehera, disappeared through the dark arched entranceway.

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About Author Luki Belle:

 Luki Belle works in the media industry. In addition to The Vicious and the Virile VII, she is the author of three other novels: The Delicate Affair of Colonel Baquiste, The Sexy Seven Supernaturals, and Shakti of the Illuminated Lotus. Storytelling has been a fixture since Luki’s childhood when she would listen to stories told by her grandparents, parents, sisters, and cousins reading to her from diverse cultural fiction books. Paranormal characters existing as and amongst humans-while exalting in their mystical powers-have always fascinated Luki. She loves to explore magical, futuristic, fantastical, and ancient realms in her stories where her human and supernatural characters are thrust together, and their conflicted and tormented natures collide.

Amazon

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Welcome to My 31 Days Of Thrills And Chills 2023! I missed doing this the last couple of years due to Covid and so excited to do it again. I’ll be sharing reviews and lots of extra spooky stuff every day leading up to Halloween. I hope you’ll join me!

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I’m sharing all kinds of books, movies, and other spooky stuff for every day in October. Gots to get those scares on for the 31st!

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 Every Color Of The Night

by C. Yellow Robe

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Genre: Horror

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MY REVIEW

If you like a new spin on something you’ve read a lot about, this will fit the bill. I stayed up late reading from beginning to end and still not quite sure what to tag these things as.

I enjoy an underdog, a compromised character with a lot of baggage. It’s my hope they can rise above their grief or self pity, redeem themselves. Especially in the worst of times. There’s more than one character to bond with, and don’t get too fond of any of them. The author is not afraid to take them out of the equation.

I’d recommend this to horror and thriller fans. The suspense builds quickly and then it’s all out action to the bitter end.

4 STARS

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Synopsis

Like a gallon of milk forgotten on the counter and left to curdle, Ken’s life is going sour. The loss of his wife and daughter, entirely his fault, has left him shattered. In the face of such pain, he’s turned to the temporary solution many others liquid salvation. It’s all catching up to him, and life seems as if it couldn’t be any worse. And then … the world comes to an end. The newly awakened evil that follows proves that some things are even worse than the apocalypse. And these things only come out at night …

Amazon

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

Welcome to My 31 Days Of Thrills And Chills 2023! I missed doing this the last couple of years due to Covid and so excited to do it again. I’ll be sharing reviews and lots of extra spooky stuff every day leading up to Halloween. I hope you’ll join me!

.

Free Computer Seeks photo and picture

.

I’m sharing all kinds of books, movies, and other spooky stuff for every day in October. Gots to get those scares on for the 31st!

~~~~~

 The Fireman

by Joe Hill

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Genre: Horror / Dystopian

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MY REVIEW

With the popularity of the apocalyptic and dystopian genres, it’s got to be hard for authors to come up with something unique to bring the world to a screeching halt.

Joe Hill does a bang up job with his Dragonscale.  People become infected with the spore, their skin becomes covered in gold and black scale like stripes. They spontaneously burst into flames and are reduced to ashes. Anything or anyone near them is quickly consumed in the flames and the world burns.

It’s almost as if Mother Nature has come up with an efficient way to cleanse herself of some pesky fleas, namely, us humans.  Sure, a lot gets burnt up, but there’s no mess, no rotting corpses, just piles of ashes. Burning a forest is often done to clear away the underbrush and promote new growth.

The story begins with Harper. She’s one of those people that light up the room when they enter. A kind and caring nurse. A sweet and doting wife. She becomes infected and her husband, the man she looks up to, can no longer hide what he really is. A loser. A coward. A bully.

When Harper learns she’s pregnant and refuses to go along with their suicide pact, Jakob goes off the deep end. He joins a group calling themselves the Cremation Squad, and Harper is high on his list for eradication.

When Harper runs for her life and hooks up with the Fireman, John Rook, and goes to Camp Wyndham, things get real interesting. I love reading about group dynamics. You put a bunch of people together, their lives in danger, and all kinds of stuff happen. The ones you thought would be stand up turn out to be the worst. The meek ones turn out to be strong.

The camp seems like a safe haven. I know better. It reeked ‘cult.’ Remember what happened with the crazy religious lady in Stephen King’s movie, The Mist, when they’re all trapped in the store? Or what about the real scenario with Jim Jones. One thing you need to do is sleep with one eye open and don’t drink the Kool-Aid no matter how good it sounds.

The horror is slow building. It creeps up a little bit at a time as the world falls apart. You need to find someone you can trust. But can you truly trust anyone? People change, and not always for the good. Hope is hard to sustain. The best laid plans fall apart.

This is quite a long book, but I didn’t realize it until after I was finished. It was that good. The story flowed that easily. And I could easily have read more. With any luck, I will. The author wraps up this story but leaves it open with the characters. There’s so much more that could be told.

4 STARS

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Synopsis

From the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of NOS4A2 and Heart-Shaped Box comes a chilling novel about a worldwide pandemic of spontaneous combustion that threatens to reduce civilization to ashes and a band of improbable heroes who battle to save it, led by one powerful and enigmatic man known as the Fireman.

The fireman is coming. Stay cool.

No one knows exactly when it began or where it originated. A terrifying new plague is spreading like wildfire across the country, striking cities one by Boston, Detroit, Seattle. The doctors call it Draco Incendia Trychophyton. To everyone else it’s Dragonscale, a highly contagious, deadly spore that marks its hosts with beautiful black and gold marks across their bodies—before causing them to burst into flames. Millions are infected; blazes erupt everywhere. There is no antidote. No one is safe.

Harper Grayson, a compassionate, dedicated nurse as pragmatic as Mary Poppins, treated hundreds of infected patients before her hospital burned to the ground. Now she’s discovered the telltale gold-flecked marks on her skin. When the outbreak first began, she and her husband, Jakob, had made a they would take matters into their own hands if they became infected. To Jakob’s dismay, Harper wants to live—at least until the fetus she is carrying comes to term. At the hospital, she witnessed infected mothers give birth to healthy babies and believes hers will be fine too. . . if she can live long enough to deliver the child.

Convinced that his do-gooding wife has made him sick, Jakob becomes unhinged, and eventually abandons her as their placid New England community collapses in terror. The chaos gives rise to ruthless Cremation Squads—armed, self-appointed posses roaming the streets and woods to exterminate those who they believe carry the spore. But Harper isn’t as alone as she a mysterious and compelling stranger she briefly met at the hospital, a man in a dirty yellow fire fighter’s jacket, carrying a hooked iron bar, straddles the abyss between insanity and death. Known as The Fireman, he strolls the ruins of New Hampshire, a madman afflicted with Dragonscale who has learned to control the fire within himself, using it as a shield to protect the hunted . . . and as a weapon to avenge the wronged.

In the desperate season to come, as the world burns out of control, Harper must learn the Fireman’s secrets before her life—and that of her unborn child—goes up in smoke.

Amazon

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

Welcome to My 31 Days Of Thrills And Chills 2023! I missed doing this the last couple of years due to Covid and so excited to do it again. I’ll be sharing reviews and lots of extra spooky stuff every day leading up to Halloween. I hope you’ll join me!

.

Free Computer Seeks photo and picture

.

I’m sharing all kinds of books, movies, and other spooky stuff for every day in October. Gots to get those scares on for the 31st!

~~~~~

 Snowball

by Gregor Bastianelli

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Genre: Horror / Christmas

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MY REVIEW

I love horror stories where the elements play a huge part in character survival. This one didn’t disappoint.

A bunch of motorists get stranded on a patch of highway during a snow storm. Whiteout conditions, freezing temps. I can’t imagine how bad that would be. Throw in some seriously creepy snowmen that mysteriously appear and it all goes crazy from there.

I’ve always been told that when caught in a situation like this, it’s best to stay put. Wait it out. Something forces a few of these people to seek help. Could the cabin in the woods provide that? Or was it all a lure? I couldn’t wait to find out. And when I did, what a wacky, twisted ending it was. And I have to mention that the cover is perfect.

4 STARS

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Synopsis

A group of motorists become stranded on a lonely stretch of highway during a Christmas Eve blizzard and fight for survival against an unnatural force in the storm. The gathered survivors realize a tenuous connection among them means it may not be a coincidence that they all ended up on this highway. An attempt to seek help leads a few of the travelers to a house in the woods where a twisted toymaker with a mystical snow globe is hell bent on playing deadly games with a group of people just trying to get home for the holidays.

Amazon

~~~~~

Click on the covers for more Thrills And Chills reviews.

     

     

     

     

     

13129925     

13640644  30753752   

~~~~~

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.