How to Promote Horror: Educating the Masses, Part 1

Keith Deininger

Cover ViolentHearts v4

A sinister ritual and nightmares made manifest… What's not to love?

“You’re an author? That’s awesome! What do you write?”

“Horror,” you say, proudly puffing out your chest.

“Oh…”

Uncomfortable looks. The subject is quickly changed.

Your puffed chest deflates and you slink away in shame…

 

It’s hard to promote horror. No genre is more misunderstood and fractured by sub-genre: supernatural, post-apocalyptic, fantasy, sci-fi, comedy, slasher, not to mention vampires, werewolves, zombies, gelatinous snot from outer space, man-eating rose bushes, and nebulous shape shifting child serial killers (10 points if you can guess those last 3 in the comments). The list goes on. It’s difficult to tell someone you’ve written a horror novel and generate interest, and this makes it all the more difficult to promote and sell a horror novel.

 

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How NOT to market your book…

When you mention horror, everyone is thinking something different. Some people think of vampires (some people, believe it or not, think Twilight is horror, and in some ways it is). Some people think of slasher horror, which mostly comes from movies like Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street where groups of not-so-smart teens are picked off one by one by some sort of killer on the loose. This is fine, but only one kind of horror and one that tends to make people think the genre is juvenile and aimed mostly at teenage boys, which it is not!

 

And then there’s King. When you mention horror, a lot of people think of Stephen King. King is a huge influence on the horror genre and he has written a lot of different tales, but his horror tends to be about outside evil terrorizing and corrupting generally good and well-intentioned people. (I could write a lot more about King’s particular brand of horror, but that’s an entire article all its own—watch this space!) And to further complicate matters, when a lot of people think of Stephen King, they think of creepy ol’ Jack Nicholson rampaging around with an axe, which is more Stanley Kubrick’s vision than King’s (more on this too in the future if there’s interest).

 

And to make matters even worse, horror is often subject to controversy and scorn. There are those who will tell you horror is bad for you. They think it’s all gore and violence and that reading such things brings out the worst in people. This is, of course, simply not true. In fact, I’d argue, the opposite is true (Another post! These things are writing themselves).

 

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The horror is real.

So then how the hell do we promote it? You’ve written a horror book. You want people to see it, to read it, to love it. First step is education. We need to teach people about horror, about the joys of darkness. That’s the only way we’re going to find the right audience. What better place to start then with blogging?

 

In this ongoing blog series I will be talking about how to sell a horror novel. I’ll tell you right now, it’s not easy. I’ve been doing this for years now and the struggle is ongoing. But I will share my experiences and what I have found that works and what doesn’t.

 

Next month I will be talking about blogging techniques to help educate the masses about horror. I will talk about how important it is to define your horror novel, so that you know what kind of horror it is and can attract the right kind of reader.

 

Until then, embrace the darkness!

 

authorpic orig smallKeith Deininger has been writing about horror, fantasy and science fiction since 2013, but he’s been obsessed with it for far longer. He is the award-winning and #1 Amazon bestselling author of many horror and fantasy titles, including WITHIN, THE FEVER TRILOGY and THE GODGAME series. He has been called “one of the finest writers of imaginative fiction” and “Ray Bradbury on acid.” His latest novel, VIOLENT HEARTS, is about a sinister ritual and the terrors of nightmares made manifest. He lives in Albuquerque, NM with his wife and two kids. Although he loves a good nightmare, in person he’s a really nice guy. Promise.

Books To Sink Your Fangs Into This Halloween!

Amazing Reads

 Halloween banner

Get ready for the haunting season with ghost stories, terrifying thrillers and chilling crime reads. With Halloween just around the corner, we have a selection of books to get you in the holiday spirit. If you don’t want to get a fright, we have reading suggestions for you too! Keep scrolling for fantasy, thriller, humor and more!

Want to leave it up for fate to decide? Why not use our matchmaker video below to pick a book for you? Just press play on the video and pause at any point.

 Mystery


 

Slay Bells

‘Twas the week before Christmas and all through the village, the night settled in over swirling-smoke chimneys; the air was alive with pine and holly, with sugar and cinnamon and cider, by golly!

Along snowy lanes and through shadows it crept, past windows behind which each villager slept, where sleeping dogs lie and cats rest a’purring—

Tonight, in Christmas Village, a killer is stirring.

Welcome to Christmas Village, a magical hamlet where even in December the roses hold their luster and bees buzz among the bluebells.

Murderous Roots

NEW EDITION – GOLD QUALITY MARK RECEIVED

Scandal, blackmail, and murder haunt the small Vermont town of Culver's Mills.

Pediatrician and amateur genealogist Anne McPhail seeks the history of her ancestors. She finds the dead body of librarian Jennifer Smith, the woman she planned to meet and her journey takes a dangerous detour into Jennifer's past of extortion and blackmail.

Anne is drawn further into the investigation by detective Adam Davidson, to help him understand the genealogy and the possible motives behind the murder.

Last Seen

Psychologist and police consultant Dr. Pepper Hunt, struggling to deal with the murder of her husband, leaves the private practice they shared and relocates to Wyoming. There, in the stark landscape of the high desert, there is nothing to remind her of everything she lost and left behind.

Then her new patient, Kimi Benally, goes missing in a Wyoming blizzard after her last therapy session―making Pepper the last person to see her. She knows the secrets Kimi shared in therapy hold clues to her mysterious disappearance, and she joins forces with Detective Beau Antelope to try to discover what’s happened to her.

Murder Of A Working Ghost

A murdered specter. An unwanted suitor. Malice at the Museum.

Halloween approaches and in the ancient capital of the Fens, Haley Thorpe is working as a costumed actor on a ghost tour. When one of the other ‘ghosts' is murdered by a cunning device, suspicion falls on Haley—the only one unobserved at the scene.

If that wasn't enough, Sean, the guy her parents think she should marry, is turning into a regular stalker. She doesn't want to date him. She's not sure she wants to date anyone at all, but does she have a choice?

Can she and Rory—her posh house-mate—figure out the real murderer before she gets arrested? And can someone tell Sean that he's not all that before he starts breaking down the door?

 Thriller


 

Invasion 2020

What if there is a specific plan to transform America into an Islamic country by the year 2020?
Combine Christian fiction, facts on Islamic terrorism, political intrigue, suspense, and even romance, and add compelling characters caught in a web of media and government deception, and you’ve got Invasion 2020!

In Colorado an intrepid investigative reporter and a photojournalist battle political correctness, a rigid editor, and a White House media representative who will silence anyone that doesn't comply with his standards. A Muslim doctor from Gaza dreams of America and leaves Islam for the God of the Bible.

The Enigma Source

The world is almost ready for fiat currency to be replaced by a superior digital currency.  The trouble is, which one and who will own it? The R-Group is back and trying to guide the players to a safe destination in the complex world of cryptocurrency.  The Global Bank has tasked Tonya to find and hire a cryptologist to create a new global cryptocurrency, though sometimes it seems she may not be up to the task. Along the way it appears she is the one getting played.

The cynical hack-and-slash cryptocurrency swindlers, Matthias and Dutch, are jumping from country to country, trying to peddle their new cryptocurrency as a savior for economically flailing countries.

 Fantasy


 

Apollo's Raven

A Celtic warrior princess is torn between her forbidden love for the enemy and duty to her people.

AWARD-WINNING APOLLO’S RAVEN sweeps you into an epic Celtic tale of forbidden love, mythological adventure, and political intrigue in Ancient Rome and Britannia. In 24 AD British kings hand-picked by Rome to rule are fighting each other for power. King Amren’s former queen, a powerful Druid, has cast a curse that Blood Wolf and the Raven will rise and destroy him.

The king’s daughter, Catrin, learns to her dismay that she is the Raven and her banished half-brother is Blood Wolf.

Dagger's Destiny

A Celtic warrior princess accused of treason for aiding her enemy lover must win back her father’s love and trust

In the rich and vibrant tale, Author Linnea Tanner continues the story of Catrin and Marcellus that began with the awarding-winning novel APOLLO’S RAVEN in the Curse of Clansmen and Kings Series. Book 2: DAGGER’S DESTINY sweeps you into an epic tale of forbidden love, mythological adventure, and political intrigue in Ancient Rome and Britannia.

War looms over 24 AD Britannia where rival tribal rulers fight each other for power and the Romans threaten to invade to settle their political differences.

The Crystal Key

Two gods. A world divided. One man and one woman destined to decide which god will control humanity's destiny for the next 1,000 years. For Mirah, who has a mind of her own and a will far outweighing her slight stature, her late father’s general supply shop was the world.

Then came a simple knock on the door one cold, winter night following an exhausting day. Her only goal being to dismiss whoever it was so she could get to bed, she answered it. Unfortunately, the two Knights on the other side had orders that would ultimately shatter her world. In the blink of an eye, she’s ripped from the only life she’s known and riding headlong into a destiny for which she was not prepared.

Running from Demons

Pillar Beccon travels across Andor to discover her mother's mysterious past. But danger is never far away as a demon seeks to destroy her.

An orphaned null without a hint of magic, Pillar can't remember ever belonging anywhere, especially not in the Freemage commune where she grew up. After she graduates from high school, she jumps at the chance to learn why her mother ran away from her family.

During an accidental encounter, Grylerrque, a surviving commander from The Demon Wars, recognizes what Pillar is and decides to feed the girl's life force to her clutch. The demon sends her minions to capture the girl. Pillar escapes with a help of an unexpected allay, only to learn she was pulled out of the frying pan and thrown into the fire.

The Six and the Crystals of Ialana

A coming of age, epic adventure reminiscent of The Shannara Chronicles; a sword and sorcery fantasy.

Silver Award Winner, Hungry Monster Book Reviews.

Six teens, at odds with each other, their goals uncertain, set out on a life-altering quest across a harsh and unforgiving continent.

Pursued by lethal foes, guided only by baffling and terrifying shared dreams, the Six must find and reclaim a powerful crystal lost 500 years in the past.

What is their connection to this crystal, or to each other? Irusan, a transcendental shape-shifter, may have the answers they seek, but so does Amrafalus, the ruthless Dragon King of Rhiannon.

Romantic Suspense


 

Chasing Symmetry

KIRKUS RECOMMENDED ROMANTIC SUSPENSE

Someone had been trying for the perfect shade of red . . .

When art professor Bianca James tries to save a dying woman, the grudge-holding chief of police is all too quick to catapult her to the top of the suspect list. As if that isn’t enough, her ex-boyfriend’s younger brother, Finn Tierny, is assigned to the case, and she’s faced with a trilogy of dilemmas: go head to head with the chief, stop a cold-blooded killer on her own, or trust another Tierny.

Finn’s return to Riley’s Peak is bittersweet. He’s flooded with memories, both good and bad, as he battles doubts about being a cop, a cantankerous father, a jealous brother, and a drug dealer with a rap-sheet longer than the list of addicts he’s been supplying.

Romance


 

Into The Wild: (A Tigers Tale)

For Rebecca Taylor, music is her life, and with the help of her record producer stepfather she is determined to make it her future. By the age of seventeen, the talented young singer and songwriter is preparing to leave school behind and pursue her music career. But it’s a jungle out there in the cutthroat world of the music industry, and Rebecca is hardly the most outgoing of teenagers.

And then there’s love, or the other thing . . . sex. What’s a girl to do when her body, her curiosity, and her emotions are taking over, especially when there’s one man already on her mind? Encouraged by her best friend, the enigmatic and unconventional Linda, Rebecca enters into an adventurous relationship, a sensual journey of discovery that will change her forever.

But if her stepfather ever found out . . .

Contemporary Fiction


 

Three Fifths

What would you do if death came knocking at your door? And how would you carry on if your life was instantly turned upside down? Would you fight back, overcoming your demons? Or would you give up and throw in the towel?

Johnny Silva—a recovering alcoholic and addict—sets off on a weekend getaway from Pismo Beach to the foothills of Northern California. Upon his arrival in the small town of Pioneer, he’s thrust into an encounter with a worn down homeless man, an encounter that forces him to look back at his rocky past as he listens to a tale of woe about a life suddenly launched in a tragic direction.

Watch the trailer here. 

Watch the interview with the author here.

Horror


 

The Coven Murders

The Coven Murders opens with a horrifying account of a ritual Black Mass with a human sacrifice in an abandoned church. Twenty-one years later, near an old ruined church in an area of outstanding natural beauty, Chief Inspector Sheehan and his team discover the skeleton of a young woman.

But what seems initially to be a straightforward case, brings the team into conflict with a powerful Satanist who has plans to offer up to Satan another human sacrifice on the evening of the great Illuminati feast of Lughnasa. Several murders occur, baffling the Inspector until he makes a connection between the modern murders and the twenty-one year old skeleton. The team’s pursuit of the murderer, and their determination to protect a young woman who is targeted by the coven, lead to a horrific climax in a hellish underground crypt where Sheehan and his team, supported by an exorcist and a bishop, attempt to do battle with the coven and a powerful demon of Baphomet, jeopardising not only their lives, but risking the wrath of Satan upon their immortal souls.

Chills Down Your Spine

Sitting around the campfire, trying to scare each other with tales of horror and legend, has been a tradition since before the keeping of written records.

Despite the Internet becoming our modern campfire, the tradition continues. We’ve collected works from thirteen — yes, 13; it just worked out that way, honest! — of today’s best upcoming and award-winning authors, asking them to send us whatever keeps them up at night. Boy, did they deliver!And you thought things that go bump in the night were your worst worry… after you read these stories, you’ll know better!Turn on all the lights in your house, find someone to hang on to, and settle in for an evening or three of chills, scares and horrors!

The Meadows

A decades-old murder. A strange, blood-thirsty cult. And a house full of spirits.

It was supposed to be a new beginning, a fresh start in the Shenandoah Valley, where Scarlett’s memories weren’t riddled with drug addiction and rehab. But after purchasing an abandoned house with a checkered past in the hopes of transforming it into a luxury bed and breakfast, strange things start to happen. Disturbing voices and noises interrupt her new life. Strangers appear, bearing cryptic warnings. A tunnel is discovered underneath the house—one historically used for a local cult’s rituals. After several of Scarlett’s guests are hospitalized, she realizes she is being targeted by violent spirits.

Driven to the edge of despair, Scarlett vows to fight back—but she has no idea what she’s really battling. And her nightmare is just beginning…

Paranormal Romance


 

Playing With Power

Playing with power can land a girl in all sorts of trouble with her man, as six ladies soon discover. Whether she’s a witch who disobeys the no-magic rule, a fairy making lust cakes, an amateur sorceress casting a spell on her boyfriend, a victim of an enchanted necklace, a revenge fairy messing with a deity, or a pleasure fairy abusing her abilities…

Once they’ve experienced the sensual consequences of playing with their magical powers, can these ladies find their happily for now with a hint of forever? Or have they spoiled their chances?

Falling Silver

What if your childhood protector returned to your life with a pack of trouble on his heels?

Reclusive artist Karina Redfeather is quietly making a name for herself in the northern Minnesota woods when her life is upended by the arrival of her childhood friend, Waterwolf Simon desRosiers. On his trail are three of the possible Four Bloodlines, with Vertigo, King of the Firewolves, seeking a fresh pet and vigilante werewolf chaser Adam Hunter out for revenge.

Karina's only hope lies in the possible existence of the Chimerae, a legendary werewolf bloodline so obscure that the others hardly believe it exists.

Paranormal Suspense


 

Curse of the Ottawa

A Frenchman drowned an Algonquin Indian 200 years ago in a fraudulent land dispute.

A sorceress's curse? A family member of his will die in the river for 10 generations.

He didn’t buy it. Ten of my family members died. Find out how and why. GOT meets The Twilight Zone!

Dark Fantasy


 

Dark Twin

“A richly-imagined tale of the struggle between the persistence of goodness and the corruption of power within the heart of a single youth—an absorbing follow-up to Blood Seed, the first book in the series.” —Debra Doyle, PhD, co-author of Knight's Wyrd, winner of the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award

Born in a land devastated by a reign of terror, Teller is snatched as an innocent boy into the brutal lord’s subterranean stronghold. Mind-probes twist his memories of home, and he grows up into an eighteen-year-old dark rebel. He simmers with hatred for the extended family he believes abandoned him and the lord’s four Vols whose mission is to corrupt and redefine him.

Historical Fiction


 

The Fire Escape Belongs In Brooklyn

The year is 1968. The world is crumbling around Mike Burns, a disillusioned Brooklyn youth attending his second year of college. His cousin and constant childhood companion, Sally-Boy, went missing two years ago. The two were incredibly close—they called themselves twins because they were born the same day—and Mike still thinks about Sally-Boy relentlessly, even talks to him…but nobody needs to know about that.

Adding to Mike’s problems, his father angrily nags him to cut his hair; a professor fills his head with passionate, troubling ideals; a friend’s draft dodge pulls him into incriminating circumstances; his Jewish roommate is in the doghouse with his own parents for dating the “wrong” girl; and Mike’s love interest—well, she has secrets of her own to deal with.
College parties make a quick fix to Mike’s troubles, but after the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., campus tensions rise to the breaking point. How will Mike deal with the turmoil of young adulthood—existential questions of morality, conscience, obligation—when everything in his life, familiar and new, is falling apart? And, above all, he longs for his cousin. He has to find Sally-Boy.

Humor


 

Let There Be Linda

Rich Leder's black comic thriller tells the tall tale of estranged brothers Mike and Dan Miller—accountant and con-man talent agent respectively—up to their necks in the virtual quicksand of LA's San Fernando Valley during the hottest summer in Southern California history.The root cause of their problems could be the missing seventy-five thousand dollars, or the sadistic, loan shark dwarf and his vicious giant, or the psycho comedian cop on the case, or the coke-snorting dentist, or the deranged zombie real estate developer. Or perhaps it’s the poodle—the poodle is suspect, no doubt.

 Non Fiction


 

Halloween Writing Prompts

13 Spooky Writing Prompts to ignite your imagination.
Bats and cats, owls and howls, trick-or-treat, hosts and ghosts.
Kids, have fun this Halloween by creating spooky stories to scare your family and friends.

FREE ON AMAZON!

Release Your Obsession with Food

Dr. Ortigara Crego, a clinical psychotherapist, addiction psychologist and Visiting Professor in private practice worked in the field of eating disorders for over two and a half decades. She earned a doctorate in addiction psychology, a master’s degree in social work with the emphasis on mental health, and is certified as an eating disorder specialist.

Release Your Obsession with Food: Heal from the Inside Out is a book for anyone trying to end the vicious cycle of compulsive eating, It is not about fad diets or quick weight loss but instead focuses on chemical imbalance, psychology, and spirituality.

Nutrients for Human Health

This book is about various nutrients, and how they affect our health. Nutrients for Human Health is a book that is informational, as well as educational.

This book discusses nutrients, as being essential for cell growth, maintenance, and repair. Nutrients provide energy to enable your body to function efficiently. Nutrients, along with fiber and water, are essential to your good health. Although nutrients can work alone, each depends upon the others to be the most effective. Nutrients are also needed daily, and in optimal amounts.

Meditation by Nature

A meditation book for beginners or someone interested in a fresh new approach to the subject. Author Howell teams up with Photographer Brahm to put words and pictures together to assist in the process of self-guided meditation using visualization. Subjects include depression, anxiety, loss, loneliness, and substance abuse. Issues that respond well to a combination of approaches including meditation.

Howell is a certified counselor, coach and hypnotherapist. Brahm is a talented nature photographer. A book for all, equally comfortable on the bed stand or the coffee table, the office or the bedroom, individual home or therapeutic center.

WHEREWOLVES: A Realistic Werewolf Horror

John Vamvas and Olga Montes

WHEREWOLVES COVER TheEBOOK KINDLE FINAL

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Chapter 1

Do you want to read more? Get  Wherewolves: A Realistic Werewolf Horror By John Vamvas and Olga Montes 

The Ending – Werewolves?

Dilly runs. The deafening beat of her panting isn’t enough to drown out the monstrous growls and trampling that rumble behind her. Though she can’t see well enough to dodge the naked branches slicing into her, the full moon’s rays help her find the path. This way, the young woman tells herself, and takes a left. Now right! Her body veers. She slams her beaten shoulder against the thick trunk of a sugar maple. Ah, fuck! The pain electrifies her cells. Like sticking a finger in a thousand volt socket. She falls to one knee. Don’t you fucking stop! Move! Move! Move! She forces herself up and implores her feet to barrel forward.

There it is! The fallen stump that looks more like a giant claw! She makes a mad dash for it, hurtles over the trunk, lands on all fours, and snaps her head back. She gasps, “Yes!” eyes on the nest-like bundle cradled between the two lower branches of the tall yellow birch before her.

She can hear whatever is out there tearing through the brush.
She leans against the tree’s peeling, gray bark and kicks at the dead leaves on the ground. Come on! she screams in her head. And at last feels the line dig into her ankle. She yanks it back hard. Click.

A thunderous roar!

She throws herself to the ground and in the next instant, a burlap sack swooshes over her.
Slam!

A canine screech rips through the forest.

Dilly jolts, feels the ground, and snatches a heavy rock. She thrashes her head from side to side and strains to hear the danger, but hears only the sack’s long suspended rope creaking as it swings. She gets to her knees. A branch snaps, she spins to pitch the rock— Nothing’s there. “Breathe, girl, breathe,” she reminds herself. And inhales deeply. The prominent scent of balsam firs transports her to the weekend she spent with Brian in a cozy bed and breakfast last May. Her eyes well. Brian … She scans the beech, spruce, and birch tree outlines, caressing her ring—its diamond lost to the forest. We should have never … ahh … She brushes off tears. Be strong, she compels herself. She staggers to a stand and lumbers off.
A harrowing growl booms—her feet are in the air, her face smashes to the ground.

“No! Nooooo!” she screams, as she’s dragged across the underbrush.

Pebbles, leaves, and branches cut into her. Her fingernails claw a trail into the earth as she tries to grip at something—anything—that will anchor her long enough to turn over and hurl the rock she still has gripped in her hand. A trio of saplings gashes her chin and she grabs onto them, jerking to a stop.
She fears she’ll be rent in two as she's tugged savagely. But she doesn’t let go. I’ve got to … She tries to twist—turn my … fucking arm … over …

Light shines through from approaching high beams. Distant, but just enough of a distraction. Yes!
She whips the rock.

A painful yowl!

“Fuck you!” she bellows as she scrambles to her feet and darts for the auspicious lights. She pushes her way through a thicket of juniper shrubs, waving and hollering—“Hey! Hey!”—and scarcely manages to catch herself. Shafts of light from the oncoming vehicle reveal there is nowhere to go but down. Down a ridiculously steep hill, she discovers.
The charging footsteps close in.

Shit! She glances over her shoulder—Fuck!—and drops to the ground. She gropes the ridge, clasps a sturdy root, and slides over the edge. Splinters stab into her hands. “Ahhhh!” she squeals—Shut up!—and hangs on. She cocks her head east to west. I need … something … else … to grab on … to.

The thicket rattles and cracks.

She winces. No! The rocks beneath her feet crumble. Oh my God, oh my God. Don’t you fucking let go. Her feet dangle. The roots dig deeper into her palms. “Ahhhh!” She presses her mouth into the dirt and feels the earth above vibrate. A pebble bounces off her head.

Beastly snorts and growls turn into sniffing and heavy panting.

She holds her breath. Go away, go away, go away!

The noises above her suddenly fade; all she hears is an eerie, unsettling breeze.

Oh my God! She listens hard. They’re gone. Breathe, she reminds herself again. She inhales and looks down. The slope is too extreme. She needs another path. She waits a long moment—God help me!—takes another mouthful of air, then musters the strength to pull herself up. Please don’t be there. Please don’t be there. Please—Fiery breath steams her forehead, and a snarl swells into a ferocious roar.

Dilly glimpses the blur of black, indigo, royal blue below. And lets go.

Salem Burning

Daniel Sugar

SALEM BURNING 002

Salem Burning

PROLOGUE

Do you want to read more? Get Salem Burning by Daniel Sugar

ISLE OF SKYE, SCOTLAND. 1550

The late-afternoon sun was slipping away and storm clouds and darkness were rapidly approaching as the happy eight-year-old girl carrying a straw basket filled with freshly-cut roses ran towards Delaney Castle.

Suddenly out of breath, Sarah Delaney stopped, sat down on the soft green grass and looked at her home. Delaney Castle was truly beautiful. Its stone walls and turrets so white they almost shimmered in the rapidly setting sun. It was hard to believe that a magnificent castle perched on top of a hill was actually her home. Hers! How lucky she was to live there and how blessed she was to have such wonderful parents. Parents who loved her so much they were making a magnificent birthday party for her that very evening. Overcome with happiness, Sarah could not help herself and as she stood up and ran into the castle she started to sing. “The birth day is the loveliest day. The birth day is filled with charm.”

Sarah’s beautiful, dark-haired mother, Evelyn Delaney, was clad in a breathtaking saffron gown and she was waiting for her daughter as Sarah ran into the castle.

Evelyn smiled, lifted a rose from Sarah’s straw basket and inhaled the flower’s scent. “Come along, Sarah. Everyone wants to see the birthday girl.”

Sarah kissed her mother on the cheek and said, “I am ready, mother.”

Sarah took her mother’s hand and together they walked into an enormous dining hall which was filled with relatives and friends who began to clap and cheer the moment Sarah entered the room.

Sarah scanned the room. The crowd was thick. There were so many people, too many people – but she only wanted one of them. Yet she could not find him. It was so frustrating. Where was he? Where was he? Suddenly she spotted him – her tall, handsome, blond father, Patrick Delaney, (clad in his finest tartan kilt and a velvet jacket). Sarah rushed into her father’s arms and he laughed and tossed her playfully into the air as Sarah squealed with delight. “Now we eat!” Patrick yelled. “Now we sing and dance as we let it be known to all that eight years ago, on the first of June, fifteen hundred and forty-two, my daughter, this young beauty named Sarah Delaney, was born in Scotland!”

Shatterbones

Robert Brown

Shatterbones ebook coverVampireFight

Chapter One

Blue Haze

shatterbones cover

*Link-In Initiated*
12:37pm
Washington D.C.
The distinct popping sound of gunfire can be heard echoing through the armored and reinforced interior of Air Force one. Four Secret Service agents rush up the stairs into the President's traveling office at the top of the jets cabin.

 

The President is pushed through the communications room and into a corner of the lounge just outside the cockpit door. The agents take positions around the room hoping to save the President's life. Two other people in the office follow protocol and crouch to the sides of the aircraft to stay out of the agents line of fire to the stairs. The third man, General McKinnon draws his own weapon and takes position in line next to the agents. They all await the approaching threat to enter or for the all clear to be given.

 

“What's happening out there? Is it terrorists? Did someone sneak on board with the press pool?”
A violent shutter reverberates through the 747 followed by the sudden loss of gravity as the plane begins to quickly descend toward the earth. Shouted warnings are given over the intercom as the President and his men are thrown against the ceiling of the craft.

 

“Massive depressurization detected. We are making emergency descent to eight thousand feet.”
Immediately after the aircraft begins its controlled fall, the noise of gunfire ends and the clamor of screams and shouting echo up the stairwell to the men. The President watches lead agent Barlow holding his hand to his ear, getting filled in on his earpiece even as he works to steady himself on the ceiling and readies for the gravity to return.

 

A chill runs along the Presidents spine when he sees the fear etched on the face of this man he thought was made of stone.

 

“It's still heading to the President. We have to move him into the cockpit!”
“Get ready Mr. President. The pilot is leveling the plane and will open the cockpit door. As soon as you are inside, they will lock that door, strap you in and we'll continue our descent.”

The Screaming

David Graham

The Screaming cover

The-Screaming_cover

 

The day was gonna be piss-awful. As soon as Brandon P Marshall woke up, he could tell. For an eighteen-year-old male with hormones running rampant, that wasn’t exactly new, but this time, the forewarning had seemed a whole order of magnitude different. The headache hadn’t helped either. It had centred on his left temple with the combined tenacity of a thundercloud and a nest of angry bees.

Whichever way he moved, the cloud blackened and the buzzing intensified. An attempted tug on his morning woody had made the bees fucking angry. It was also a Monday, which meant boring classes and jerk teachers who treated him like shit. Even the sunlight hurt. The sound of the Marshall family in the kitchen rattled him, too.

At times like these, he contemplated revenge for being brought into the frigging awful world. He’d devised a wide repertoire to choose from, ranging from the teasingly psychological to the daringly physical. To go downstairs naked with his woody exposed wasn’t something that could be done often, but it was worth it for the look on his mom’s face.

His dad threatened him with a beating but he’d chickened out at the last moment. Such a fucking wimp. And Brandon had a bigger dick than his dad anyway. Another favourite included emptying a box of roaches on the kitchen floor. A plague of locusts was also on his list but that was a tad too biblical.

Higher up the scale, it got seriously messy and terminal. To be brutally honest—as opposed to honestly brutal (hah!)—he still preferred shock and awe rather than shots and gore. After all, with dead people, there was no turning back. Somewhere towards the top was cyanide gas, but getting potassium cyanide out of the chem lab would take a lot of planning. And then there was the hazard of crime labs and toxicology, which would screw his chances once and for all.

But, something about that particular morning made him think a final solution was required. Perhaps it had to do with the noise that came from downstairs; Dwayne, Debra and Rebekah, all aged one, were doing their best to out-screech each other, with the occasional random, futile interjection from his mom. Why the hell had she wanted more kids after so many years? Then, to add insult to injury, out had popped three. And three times loud is FUCKING LOUD. Somehow, his dad just sat through it, as if he’d gone deaf overnight. As usual, he’d be reading the Kansas City Star over his breakfast cereal and pretending it was The New York Times. He was such a fucking jackoff.

Brandon’s cell phone rang with its irritating wake-up call. It wasn’t just your usual cell phone, but a 4G quad core with 2×2 MIMO to ensure maximum coverage. He’d bought that after months as a part-time cook at KFC, during which he’d put on thirty pounds. The phone was said to be ‘state of the art’. Great, he thought, except when he tried saying that out aloud just then, he heard it as ‘fake of the fart’, which wasn’t what he meant at all.

Shit, my brain is getting rambled … no, no, scrambled. What the fuck is going on? Brain humour… tumour… Shit! I’m dying! Nothing to lose, then.

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