stories in and

DARK HILARITY

DARK HILARITY by Joseph Sale

SPFBO8

Tara Dufrain and Nicola Morgan are eleven year old girls growing up in the ‘90s, obsessed by Valentine Killshot, a metal screamo band. In particular, they’re enamoured by the lead singer, the mysterious yet charismatic Jed Maine who bears the epithet “The Cretin”. In Jed’s lyrics, he describes a world beyond the Dark Stars that he hopes one day to reach. The girls think it’s all just make-believe they share together, until a freak, traumatic incident makes this world very real. As adults, Tara and Nicola try to come to terms with the devastating catastrophe that changed their lives growing up, but to do so they will have to step once more into Jed Maine’s world, and confront the man who took everything from them. Dark Hilarity is My Best Friend’s Exorcism meets The Never-Ending Story, a fantasy that explores addiction, depression, and the healing power of friendship.


The Blood of Crows

The Blood of Crows by Alex C. Pierce

SPFBO8

Ren, a state-trained thief working in a world where everyone has magical ability except for him, doesn’t kill people. Tensions are already high in the walled realm of Lenmar, and when the nobility start dying with no trace of magic that isn’t from the victims, Ren immediately becomes the prime, and only suspect. Hunted by magic-eating Inquisitors and the Captain of the Royal Guard, his life becomes one of flight and fear through a realm on the brink of civil war.‹‹All Ren wants to do is stop a serial killer, clear his name, find his mentor, and protect the people he cares about. To do that, he’ll have to pull one more high-stakes heist— And steal the proof he needs from the very people who want to catch him.


Elusion of Freedom

Elusion of Freedom by Kelvin Womack

SPFBO8

After thousands of years the trapped darkness is breaking free, and once it is, no longer shall we be. Thought to be long locked away, darkness has escaped it confines, enslaving everything it touches. The only safe haven is behind the Order's towering walls, where 17-year-old Vayn and his father have fled. But it's not the darkness they're afraid of. After escaping the clutches of Shadow Reapers that ravaged his land, Vayn desires to never live in the free world again, exchanging his liberation for what some would consider a form of slavery. But when Reapers break inside, murdering his father, Vayn is determined to attain retribution. The Order forbids it, knowing he'll uncover their secrets. There is but one way to regain his freedom. Once a year, on the Day of Liberation, one may leave the walls but at great cost. A life. Vayn must sacrifice someone innocent. If he doesn’t, he'll never bring his father's killers to justice or learn the Orders secrets. Outside awaits the darkness, its creatures perishable only with the aid of a larger-than-life sword. But not even that will help him face the darkness of his own past. Freedom is both elusive and hard to distinguish. Time is of the essence, and on his quest of vengeance, Vayn must learn that true freedom is more than escape from physical and mental subjugation before the darkness swallows their world into oblivion.


Augustine

Augustine by Emerson Laine

SPFBO8

DEATH IS ONLY THE BEGINNING in this epic series starter by debut author, Emerson Laine. In a small village in the south of England, two sisters try to resurrect an ancient evil, but when one sister betrays the other to save the life of an innocent child, everything goes horribly wrong. TWENTY-FIVE YEARS LATER, grieving the loss of her recently deceased mother and desperate to escape her ex-fiancĂ©, Raewyn Winters relocates to Cranston Myre for some much-needed tranquility, only to discover that having an entire forest on your doorstep is less than idyllic, especially one shrouded in fear and suspicion. Then she meets John, the mysterious and handsome gardener from the Gothic mansion on the hill, who just happens to have the same unusual birthmark as Rae, and suddenly Rae’s quiet life spirals out of control as she is dragged into a dark and sinister world beyond anything she could ever have imagined.


The World Breaker Requiem

The World Breaker Requiem by Luke Tarzian

SPFBO8

Prince of Woe
 Avaria Norrith is the adopted heir to the Ariathan throne. But that means little to a man who, for the better part of fifteen years, has sought and failed to earn his mother’s love. Fueled by pride and envy, Avaria seeks the means to prove himself and cast away his mental chains. When he’s tasked with the recreation of The Raven’s Rage he sees his chance, for with the infamous blade he can rewrite history and start anew. Daughter of the Mountain
 Erath has not felt sunlight for a century. Not since Ariath condemned her people to a life of darkness with their misuse of The Raven’s Rage. But when an old friend comes seeking the remnants of the ancient sword, Erath cannot contain her curiosity and resolves to lend her aid. Is it true—can history be revised? Can her people be reclaimed? Toll the Hounds
 They are hungry—and they are here.


The Black Parade

The Black Parade by Kyoko M

SPFBO8

Jordan Amador. 21. New Yorker. Waitress. Mild alcoholic. Murderer. Two years ago, Jordan accidentally shot and killed a Seer: a person who can see, hear, and talk to ghosts with unfinished business. Her crime came with a hefty price, too. She has two years to help a hundred souls cross over to the afterlife or her soul is bound for hell. Tough break. As if that weren’t bad enough, two days before her deadline a handsome pain-in-the-ass poltergeist named Michael strolls into her life. His soul is the key to her salvation, but the cost just might be more than she can handle. Solving his death puts her right in the crosshairs of Belial: a vain, bloodthirsty archdemon who won’t rest until she’s his slave. Can she rescue Michael and save her own soul, or will they both be dragged down into the clutches of the eternal black parade?


Damn Wilds

Damn Wilds by K.A. Honeywell

SPFBO8

Magic he paid for, and she never wanted. Clover has lived as the outcast wife of a shapeshifter for six years, and been miserable every second of it. The magic-hating townspeople harass her and threaten her life, but she’s accepted her fate. Mostly. When an accident gives Clover the chance to escape her exile, she seizes it, only to discover that it’s left her with a new, more terrifying problem—it’s trapped magic inside her. In a world that despises magic, that would have been enough, but this magic was designed to lure and now Clover is pursued by bloodthirsty animals called wilds. The only person she can rely on for help is Joss, the gunslinging wild hunter who caused the accident that upended Clover’s life. In a journey across the country, Clover and Joss search for a way to remove the magic while fending off wilds, dealing with Joss’s past coming back to bite him, and trying to survive among people who would kill to erase magic.


The Shadow Courtesan

The Shadow Courtesan by Willow Woods

SPFBO8

No mortal will tell of our tragedy... Tenebrae; a world of darkness, trapped in the past and where vampires rule over their mortal slaves. Torn from the safety of her small village, twelve-year-old Reina is a thrust into a life of slavery and eternal darkness. Spending her prime years in servitude to the demons known as vampires, Reina learns to keep her head down and remain unseen. But all that changes when she makes a fatal mistake. A century after seeing her home destroyed and family slaughtered, Reina is forced to return toTenebrae. No longer a slave and raised to the ranks of vampire, the very creature she loathes, Reina is determined to end slavery and destroy Tenebrae. But she has caught the attention of Master Vrykólakas, the man responsible for the death of her family. Suspicious of Reina's return he issues her an impossible ultimatum: become his treasured courtesan or condemn the man who is both her Creator and lover to death. Buy now and join Reina as she battles the demons of her past and fights to forge her own path in life.


Crossings

Crossings by Ashley Capes

SPFBO8

Deep in the Australian forests, something dark is stirring. When wildlife ranger Lisa Thomas finds a pile of animal entrails on her doorstep she immediately suspects her abusive ex, but the sudden spate of deaths that follow seem beyond even Ben's vindictiveness. Worse, her father's health is deteriorating fast and when the harassment and deaths continue, it only fuels her feelings of powerlessness. To add confusion to growing fear, Lisa must also investigate reports of a giant white kangaroo, reports that suggest the creature is no mere hoax. Yet the mysterious kangaroo is impossible to track down and the more Lisa searches the more she's sure an even greater threat lurks in the wilderness...


Onslaught of Madness

Onslaught of Madness by Jesse Teller

SPFBO8

The Drine war machine needs to be constantly fed and has turned its sights on Tienne. Warlord Rextur devoted his life to planning this invasion, so how did he lose the element of surprise? And who is this emerging rival Peter Redfist? He can’t be much of a problem. The god of destruction has long favored Rextur. His faith is strong and his legions mighty. Who could withstand their onslaught?


An Altar on the Village Green

An Altar on the Village Green by Nathan Hall

SPFBO8

“If one suffers, I suffer. If one is chained, I am chained.” My faith called me to become a Lance. My compassion drew me into one of the fallen lands. Through my connection with the Chained God, I alone can find and destroy the Horror that stains the land. Death can no longer chain me. But I couldn’t have imagined the madness waiting for me in this village. I’m not sure my faith can withstand the secrets I’ll uncover. Or that my compassion can survive the violence to come. This Horror may swallow me whole. Death can no longer free me. A creature stalks in the dark. Buildings burn. People die. An altar has been built on the village green.


Liches Get Stitches

Liches Get Stitches by HJ Tolson

SPFBO8

Evil stirs in the forest of Downing, spreading blight across the ancient boughs. Busy with troubles of her own, Maud the village witch just wants to be left alone. Peace and quiet should be easy enough when you're dead, right? Wrong. Reborn as a powerful lich, Maud is suddenly faced with the attentions of all the righteous heroes, holy clerics, and nosy neighbours of the realm. Now instead of whiling away the days in her garden with her cat and her knitting, Maud must figure out how much force is required to crush a man's spine, the proper storage solution to keep a spoiling cadaver, and how best to display the remains of the fallen for maximum scare. Featuring people mulch, head bouquets, revenant geese, and some very deadly embroidery, undead paradise never looked so good. A very grisly slice-of-life progression fantasy. Trigger warning for gore and violence.


Gold Glamour's Ghost

Gold Glamour's Ghost by Neil Adam Ray

SPFBO8

A legendary gunslinger returns, bringing his mythic revolvers and a host of eldritch magic back to the Wild West. Carter Quinn might be Tarnation’s premiere scoundrel, charlatan, and snake oil salesman, but at least each of his overpriced promises of false hope comes with a good story pegged to it. All the man claiming to be Lucas Linden offers with his lies is a brief dance at the end of a short rope. After studying the art of the scam for decades, Quinn knows a fraud when he sees one. Sure, the legendary gunslinger’s revolvers weigh down the stranger’s belt and he’s got the folk hero’s signature smile stretched across his face, but the real Lucas Linden disappeared thirty years ago. For him to come back after so long without a single wrinkle or gray hair, he’d need a hell of a lot more than a healthy diet—he’d need the kind of magic that only exists in stories more outlandish than those of Lucas Linden himself. The fake Lucas Linden seems harmless at first, but when he appoints himself sheriff and claims to have discovered enough gold to reanimate the dried-up mining town, the simple townsfolk fall for the con hook, line, and sinker. They feed off the fervor of the lawless, godless hangings, growing more manic by the day, and it falls on Quinn and his soft-headed sidekick, Ron Chesterfield, to stop the grinning ghost before his festering evil consumes Tarnation and spreads its black tendrils to the rest of the world.


Yellow Tape and Coffee

Yellow Tape and Coffee by Pat Luther

SPFBO8

Four intertwining stories. Four points of view of a single large event. Four people from different backgrounds with different ideals. And a secret society of werewolves is unveiled in Portland, Oregon. For four hundred years, they have kept their secret. Some will do anything to reveal it. Others will sacrifice everything to keep it. Alliances will be forged and shattered. Friendships will be made and betrayed. Conspiracies within conspiracies will unravel as conflicting agendas clash across the city. And by the end, nothing will be the same.


A Song For The Void

A Song For The Void by Andrew C. Piazza

SPFBO8 SPFBO Finalist

A Mind Imprisoned Is The Greatest Of Hells. 1853. South China Sea. While on patrol between the Opium Wars, the crew of the steam frigate HMS Charger pursues a fleet of pirates that have been terrorizing the waters surrounding Hong Kong. But now the hunters have become the hunted. Something else has come to the South China Sea, something ancient and powerful and malevolent. Now, the crew of the Charger must face their worst nightmares in order to survive the terrible creature they come to know as the Darkstar. A Song For The Void is a haunting, terrifying historical horror novel that will keep you turning the pages and jumping at the shadows. Readers who are interested in a historical adventure mixed with slow burn cosmic horror should take a closer look at A Song For The Void.


Winter’s Myths

Winter’s Myths by Gage Greenwood

Indie Recs Indie

When the world ends, who will tell the story? After a disease ravages his underground community, Winter escapes with his daughters to the dangerous surface of Earth. Believing the planet is largely abandoned, he struggles to make sense of this strange new world while trying to keep his family alive... But the surface is not all complicated artifacts and relics of a deserted universe. Winter is certain something—or someone—is hunting them. He weaves wild tales to entertain and teach his daughters, turning celebrities into demigods and Abe Lincoln into an ice giant. As the journey grows darker and more dangerous, his mythologies keep not only his children from confusion and despair, but him as well. With tensions rising and danger at every corner, will Winter keep his family alive long enough to finish his tales? Winter's Myths is a multi-season serial currently publishing on Amazon's Kindle Vella. This book covers the first season. Each season will be available in book form upon completion.


delta

delta by Tom Starita

Jason Carico is a grieving father, desperately trying to come to grips with the loss of his eight-year-old stepdaughter, Delta, who drowned two months ago. But if she's dead, then why is there a little girl claiming to be Delta locked up in his basement? Desperately wanting to believe her, Jason attempts to live a normal life while hiding his nightmare below. His anxiety explodes when his late wife's sister appears on his doorstep. Can he trust her? Would she believe him? And what will the police think if they ever find out the only African American man in town has a white girl trapped in his basement? The haunting motto of Mother's death cult tolls throughout the book, "The Universe has a plan, independent from the wants of man."


Page of Tricks (Inheritance, 5)

Page of Tricks (Inheritance, 5) by AK Faulkner

SFFOasis

There’s nowhere left to run. Quentin d’Arcy has escaped his father’s clutches for six years, but the life he has built in San Diego is about to come crashing down. The skeletons in his closet won’t stay hidden. The Duke of Oxford’s pawns are all in place. One move triggers a catastrophic chain of events: Freddy kidnaps Laurence, and Quentin is thrust into a race against time to save both his lover’s sanity and his own. Every family has secrets, but the d’Arcy line is built on them. Nothing will ever be the same again.


Lord of Ravens (Inheritance, 3)

Lord of Ravens (Inheritance, 3) by AK Faulkner

SFFOasis

Hunter and prey. Which is which? Laurence Riley believed that he was nothing. He couldn’t have been further from the truth. Descended from Herne the Hunter, his own need to seek prey has long gone unfulfilled. Now it’s out of control. Something ancient is coming to take Quentin home: a creature of nightmare who feasts on the flesh of children. But Laurence has seen the real monster. The one who is pulling all their strings from afar. Only Herne can prepare Laurence to face an evil which far outmatches him. Their enemy wields the most powerful weapon of all, and will destroy everyone Laurence loves unless he can master the same power. He must learn magic.


In a Hotel Room in Chillicothe

In a Hotel Room in Chillicothe by Joshua Shuh

SFFOasis

The Voice wakes Jon. His chair makes a circle with six others and each chair subdues a stranger. The Voice’s tone is light, but his actions are ruthless. Within moments, the instructions are delivered. Every ninety minutes Jon and his unwilling neighbors will vote on the next person to leave the game. The only way to leave is by death. Well, that’s not the only way. For one “lucky” participant there’s a reward at the end of this contest. One of these seven seemingly perfect strangers is going to meet the man that made it all possible, the man that makes everything possible.


Wish List

Wish List by Amanda Pampuro

If Amazon could talk, what would it say about you? Wish List follows woman's life told through things she bought online, as told by the shopping algorithm that sold them to her. ARgurl16 first logs onto Hermes as a teenager and the platform continues to watch over her throughout her life as she transitions from broke college student to single woman looking for love, and eventually into motherhood. Hermes is data-hungry and obsessive, as it struggles to understand its own identity alongside the wants of its millions of users so that it can suggest buying the very best earplugs and coffee mugs. This concise novella is The Death of Ivan Ilyich for the reader with a guilty pleasure for Buzzfeed listicles. Readers haunted by Guy Debord’s Society of the Spectacle or NiccolĂČ Machiavelli will enjoy this slice of life.


Zero Saints

Zero Saints by Gabino Iglesias

Enforcer and drug dealer Fernando has seen better days. On his way home from work, some heavily tattoed gangsters throw him in the back of a car and take him to an abandoned house, where they saw off his friend’s head and feed the kid’s fingers to ... something. Their message is clear: this is their territory now. But Fernando isn’t put down that easily. Using the assisance of a Santerian priestess, an insane Puerto Rican pop sensation, a very human dog, and a Russian hitman, he’ll build the courage (and firepower) he’ll teed to fight a gangbanger who’s a bit more than human.


Toadstones

Toadstones by Eric Williams

Sixteen stories from the Bowels of Hell. You can’t chear death, but death can still cheat you. Gods are real. Monters too. Like sheepoids, creepoids, and landlords. Take the ghost bus to a showing of a haunted film; it really is to die for. Keep your distance from the uncanny residents of a picturesque wasteland. If you forget your wallet at some sketchy jobsite in the middle of nowhere, just leave it. Some things are better lost. Stepped in the history of Time, Earth, and B-Movies, Eric Williams creates worlds where nothing is what it seems, and be you graverobber, podcaster, or small-town veterinarian, there are no magic charms to protect you. A collection where Weird is the norm, where the unreal is all too real, Toadstones is a reminder that we don’t know everything, actually.


Mary, Everything

Mary, Everything by Cassandra Yorke

A young woman born in the wrong reality. A destiny that will lead her into the past. And a love so enduring it reaches across time - and existence itself - to bring her home. A gripping tale of best friends and romance, sorcery and survival, at the dawn of the Roaring 20s. Courtney is a lonely undergrad at secluded Braddock College in 2004, working a drowsy summer job in the Archives. Assigned to a new project, she becomes haunted by a college yearbook from the 1920s - filled with familiar faces and memories of times she never experienced. A chance encounter with a mysterious girl named Sadie - dressed in long-outdated clothes - alters her reality. But if you were never meant to be born, that reality can expel you like an infection - or kill you outright. While Courtney struggles against forces she cannot comprehend, a psychopathic stalker smells blood and closes in for the kill. Sadie, now in 1921, races against the clock to save her friend, joined by some remarkable allies - an American combat sorceress and veteran of World War I, an enigmatic professor who specializes in piercing the veil between realities, and two young women who insist they’re Courtney’s oldest friends - one of them even claiming to be her truest love. Time is running out for Courtney, and a terrifying wilderness - haunted by the dead from centuries past - may hold the key to her salvation. But none who enter have ever returned... Cassandra Yorke's groundbreaking debut brings Magical Realism home to the Midwest in an explosive new style, blending Midwestern Gothic and historical fiction with a warm lesbian love story to create a riveting, deeply immersive epic you won't be able to put down. It's the world of Boardwalk Empire and Gatsby, with an urgent, immersive narrative about what it means to belong, what it means to be hated, what it means to be loved, and ultimately what it means to come home.


Heretic (Hellmage Chronicles #1)

Heretic (Hellmage Chronicles #1) by Jennifer deBie

The Hellmages, outcasts who feed on the deaths of friends, enemies, and each other, are shaking the earth, killing powerful mages, causing the kind of destruction the Mages’ Council was created to stop. Siraj, a Lightkeeper who wields sunlight as a weapon and carries purification in his hands, is the only one who can meet with a Hellmage, find out who is upsetting the balance, and walk away unscathed, but there’s a problem. The Hellmage he meets doesn’t know the earthshaker and magekiller either, but now she’s curious and if there’s anything worse than a curious Hellmage, it’s one who doesn’t fear being burned to death by a Lightkeeper’s touch.


Sasha's Not Here!

Sasha's Not Here! by S.E.Stenner

When Mitchell's one-sided crush on an old childhood friend cascades over into full-blown obsession, kidnap seems like his only logical course of action. However, the subject of his affections, Sasha, is anything but compliant or submissive. And when a deep dark secret Sasha's also been harbouring comes creeping to the surface, it not only pushes Mitchell's sanity to its limits, but makes him question everything he thought he knew. Which not only throws a spanner into the works of Mitchell's once meticulously thought-out plan, but full on thrusts a sledgehammer threw it!


Three Days in Ashford

Three Days in Ashford by Ty Tracey

Daniel Hallowell, by all standards, is a tough cookie. Despite growing up in a different foster home every few years and several run-ins with the authorities, he pulled himself up and put himself through college. A few years later, he became a household name as the most wildly successful paranormal investigator that the world had ever known. His success came complete with his own television show and a lucrative contract from the network that owned its rights. With his tight-knit crew in tow, the show would take him around the world to explore and document the most haunted locations the world had to offer. A chance encounter one evening with a stranger in a hotel bar piques Daniel's interest. He reluctantly agrees to investigate Ashford—a long abandoned town cut somewhere deep into the Ohio countryside. Having become intrigued by a stranger's desperate and terrifying synopsis into a decades-long series of unexplainable events that had taken place there, Daniel and his eclectic crew of paranormal investigators clear their schedule and embark on a trip that they would come to regret for the rest of their lives. As they struggle to unravel the terrifying truth that lies at the heart of the disturbances that plague Ashford, they find that they are being hunted from within the deep, foreboding forests that surround them on every side. As Daniel slides deeper down the rabbit-hole and watches helplessly as his mind and sanity are slowly ripped away, he and his crew must embark on a journey across Ashford, across timelines and within the deep recesses of their own souls to uncover answers they otherwise would have never cared to know. Answers that will only serve to question the very psychological, physical, theological and philosophical meaning of our existence as a species. However difficult to stomach, the only way to save themselves from the unimaginably savage force that threatens, not only their lives, but the very existence of humanity, is to decipher the riddle that haunts Ashford. The town that Satan calls home.


The Valley

The Valley by Mike Salt

When Conrad and his wife set out to meet their friends for a simple weekend retreat, all they wanted was an easy weekend full of catching up and drinking. But when the group discovers a map that shows them the location of a hidden waterfall, hidden in the heart of an uncharted valley, they can’t help but jump at the opportunity to rediscover it. What they don’t expect is to find an abandoned ghost town. Hidden away from the world with an evil secret. Now Conrad and his group must do whatever they can to stay alive as they are hunted by an entity that feeds off the horrors that occur in the valley. A horror they are doomed to repeat for eternity. Winner of Inkshares 2018 Horror Competition, Mike Salt brings the reader into a dark world and never lets off the throttle.


After the Devil

After the Devil by Kayla Krantz

It’s our darkest parts that know us best. Alex Alpine is unhappy with her life—a dead-end job, a marriage that’s falling apart, and a failed string of self-published books. In an effort to better her life for her and her daughter, she makes the decision to quit writing in order to get a second job. Jamie, a recovered addict and Alex’s only fan, can’t bring himself to accept her decision. Convinced he can fix her, he kidnaps her and holds her hostage in his home in the woods. As Alex’s captivity extends from weeks to months, Alex finds herself torn between her duties to the daughter she left behind and the life Jamie has made for her. To figure out where her true priorities lie, she must dive into not only her own past traumas but Jamie’s as well.


Road to Redemption

Road to Redemption by Crystal Kirkham

Centuries ago Michel made a deal with the devil and now, for longer than he cares to think about, he's only just managed to stay one step ahead of the death and destruction cursed to follow him for eternity. Now his wanderings have brought him to the strange city of La Port and a girl who knows a thing or two about the supernatural. Paige is determined to rid Michel of his curse and free him from Satan's grasp. When Satan discovers her involvement in his affairs, Michel must tread the depths of hell itself to save her and maybe save himself as well.


The Chapel St. Perilous

The Chapel St. Perilous by Michael Rands

Believing the universe is sending him secret signs, Marcel Swart puts his meagre savings into a high-leverage investment. Overnight, Marcel becomes a millionaire, but these winnings come at a great cost—such as the demon that seems to be following him, leaving carnage in its wake. In a quest to set himself right with the universe, Marcel travels cross-country, finding himself in a small town in Alabama, rife with political tension surrounding a mysterious cult and a sheriff's election that may very well decide the fate of the country. Marcel struggles to uncover the secrets of the cult, the town, and the world itself—all while facing criminal charges for a murder he can't remember committing. Part South Gothic, part metaphysical noir, with a tough of magic realism and a dash of dark comedy, the Chapel St. Perilous dares the reader to take a chance with fate.


Bestow the Darkness

Bestow the Darkness by Amanda Hocking

BESTOW THE DARKNESS is a brooding gothic romance set in the rugged forest of 1890s Michigan. Emiliath lives in a cloistered religious sect with her sisters and brothers, as she has for over twenty-one years. Her life is stable and quiet, but she has begun to feel a longing for something more. When tragedy hits close to home, she begins to connect with a handsome stranger from the city, Trent. But her quiet life is far more sinister than it seems, and Trent has his own secrets. On top of that, a hungry beast is lurking in the forest, and it might be the end of everything Emiliath has ever known.


Shards of Venus

Shards of Venus by Tjalara Draper

Shifting by the light of Venus... Still reeling from the vicious murder of her best friend, Violet Chambers is haunted by the "faceless" man with the neck tattoo who kidnapped her. Trying to move on is a daily struggle for the girl who spent most of her life in foster care. But when she meets Nathan, the detective who found her at her best friend's crime scene, things begin to look more promising. Violet finally finds sanctuary for the first time in her life. Hellbent on protecting her, Nathan Delano, a mysterious shape-shifting Veniri, will do anything he can for Violet. All he has to do is ensure Violet's world never collides with the shifter world. But even he can't stop the enemy determined to destroy her and anyone she gets close to. Suddenly, Violet doesn't know who she can trust. With a pact broken and her safety on the line, will Violet save herself before it's too late?


Golem

Golem by P.D. Alleva

A haunting tale of suspense, loss, isolation, contempt, and fear. On November 1, 1951, war hero John Ashton was promoted to detective. His first assignment: find the district attorney’s missing daughter. But his only lead is Alena Francon, a high society sculptor and socialite committed to Bellevue’s psychiatric facility. Alena has a story for the new detective. A story so outlandish John Ashton refuses to heed the warning. Alena admits to incarnating Golem, a demonic force, into her statue. A devil so profound he’s infiltrated every part of New York’s infrastructure. Even worse, he uses children to serve as bodily hosts for his demonic army, unleashing a horde of devils into our world. When Alena’s confidant, Annette Flemming, confirms the existence of Golem, John is sent on a collision course where fate and destiny spiral into peril, and the future of the human race hangs in the balance. The Devil Is In The Details! Fans of The Silence of the Lambs, Clive Barker, John Connolly, old Stephen King, and Anne Rice will be fascinated by this edge of your seat psychological horror thriller with a story that tears out the heart of humanity and throws it on a slab to be feasted on.


Where Blood Runs Gold

Where Blood Runs Gold by A.C. Cross

SFFOasis SPFBO8

Sheriff Errol Thorpe’s life is chaotic, brutal, and above all, solitary. After an unimaginable loss years ago, all he feels is the compulsion to seek vengeance. But when a vulnerable family arrives in town, facing an ugly future, he is pulled headfirst into a web of violence, secrets, and things he never imagined. In search of truth and answers, Thorpe finds himself battling deadly flesh-eating Dust, acidic golden blood, and the political designs of powerful people – all the while learning how to be a person again. When Dust rises in San Dios, people hide indoors. When Sheriff Thorpe arrives, people run.


Bang to Begin

Bang to Begin by Jethro Weyman

Reality is Relative. There is no such thing as universal truth. But lies are always lies. From auctions to assassinations, from cosmos to subconscious mind, the roots feeding into these short stories start fine, but thicken and tangle as they grow deeper. Follow these wayward souls through their darkest moments, each beginning with a bang and each trying desperately to avoid ending with the same. A metaphysical, visionary exploration of the human psyche and all that it means to be real - discussed via an anthology with a difference.


Unveiling

Unveiling by Zel Winter

Indie Recs Indie

Dan Noble is an old Vampire, perhaps the oldest in the world. One night on the prowl, he is inexplicably drawn to a plain-looking university student. But Nina Wright is not as boring as she seems: she meets Dan's charm with the allure of her own, and the two share an unforgettable night. When Dan tries and fails to compel Nina to forget their encounter, he suspects that she is no ordinary human. And when a gang of bloodthirsty vampires singles her out for a vicious kidnapping, he realizes the girl he has fallen head over heels for may very well be a Human Immortal, a being of awesome power. Nina will be able to reclaim her supernatural gifts if she chooses a mate of her own lineage, Nature's Immortals: a Dragon, Were, or Fae. As a Vampire, Dan would only stand in the way of her destiny. Will he find the courage to give up his true love just as soon as he has found her?


Ablem's Sanctuary

Ablem's Sanctuary by Briar Esterline

Right outside the small town of Burriston, Pennsylvania is Ablem’s Sanctuary: a luxurious inn with freshly-painted walls, sparkling windows, and a manicured apple orchard all run by the reclusive Ablem family; it’s a place straight from a fairytale. Then people start going missing in the late summer of 1995, vanishing without a trace and returning... different. Stanley Dolmen has his own problems: he's still reeling from his mother’s sudden death and an uncontrollable power awakening within him. But when his path crosses with the Ablems, he soon finds himself drawn into their world of wealth, secrecy, and the affection he’s been starved of in his own family. However, it seems to come with a hefty price. He begins to question their intentions when his world descends into terror, his family is caught in the crosshairs of dangerous people, and a supernatural force is growing wrathful in the surrounding woods. With the help of the outcasts in his neighborhood, he is forced to decide whether to believe the Ablem's checkered past or have the rest of the town pay the ultimate price for his mistakes.


The Long Nights

The Long Nights by Tom Mock

SPFBO8

2021 INDIES TODAY AWARDS: RUNNER-UP IN HORROR A cry of pain, hard and desperate, tore through Carthage City one night 
 The Nightwalker Killings: bodies drained and tucked away in the abandoned corners of Carthage City Oldtown. The oddity of their stalled decay was a mystery 
 until the latest victim woke in a fury of teeth and claws. Joe Kellerman, a young telepath working with a group of occult “Specialists,” finds himself face to face with the vampire known as the Nightwalker—at least, what’s left of him. To stop the vampire's contagion of death from spreading, Joe searches the killer’s memories to find his missing victims before any more wake to feed. But as an alluring photojournalist with a history of blackmail starts to suspect his involvement in the Nightwalker case, Joe is stretched thin between past mistakes and his search for the missing, where every face he sees is a life seemingly doomed to a bad end. Maybe that's why he keeps having visions of a girl in yellow sneakers from the killer's past—the fleeting hope that someone made it out alive. Is there anyone left to save, or has Joe finally gone too far into the dark to find his way out again?


Fever Dreams

Fever Dreams by Luther Kross

Have you ever wondered how urban legends began in your neck of the woods? Have you ever pondered the possibility that, perhaps, there is some element of truth to these horrifying tales? Perhaps you've treated someone harshly, only to have your actions come back and bite you in the rear. Maybe you've gone home with someone from the club, only to wake up with a mountain of regret the next morning. But, what if you hadn't? Lived to regret it, that is. Find the answers to these questions and more in this, the first volume of Fever Dreams.


The Nightcrawler

The Nightcrawler by P.A. Sheppard

The problem with the end of the world is that it’s a gradual process. It keeps getting worse. It tests you until you break, just to see if you can put yourself back together. Caz and her father do what they must to survive the fall of humanity. Hunting when they can, and scavenging supplies from the derelict shells of a deserted city, they rely on each other to make it to the end of each day.The end of each day. A time when darkness falls and the monsters responsible for the collapse of society emerge to hunt.


The Last Letter

The Last Letter by Tory Hunter & WB Welch

Indie Recs Indie

The power has been out for a month, the roads are clogged with abandoned vehicles, and the dead roam the streets. In a quiet suburb on the outskirts of an unnamed city, the only survivors of this apocalyptic nightmare hide out in their homes with plywood on their windows and furniture blocking their doors. For weeks, a young waitress named Laura is stuck in her attic and running out of food while the dead pile into her house, drawn to her scent. Down the street, her friend Morrigan, a firefighter before the world ended, has barricaded herself in her two-story home with her dog, unaware Laura is still alive. When a neighbor named Jacob begins making supply runs and delivering them to the survivors on his street, he rescues Laura, secures her house, and offers to carry a letter to Morrigan. Thus begins a correspondence between friends and, together, they discover the dead might be the least of their worries. THE LAST LETTER is a zombie story for people who don’t read zombie stories. Tense, emotional, and gritty, this series of letters explores how fast the dark side of human nature emerges when society collapses.


Where Dragonflies Dance

Where Dragonflies Dance by A. A Medina

Indie Recs Indie

Erik Haust was in an accident. When he awoke, not only was his twelve-year-old daughter missing, but so was his memory of that day. Almost two months later, and there is still no sign of his daughter, Melinda. Until she found him. Dragged through an emotional and painful minefield, Erik unravels the mystery of his daughter's disappearance.


Autumn Nights: 10 Stories to Skitter Up Your Spine

Autumn Nights: 10 Stories to Skitter Up Your Spine by Various

Hot summer days fade, and the chills of autumn begin. Leaves wither and fall, trees lay barren, and darkness descends earlier each evening. While people seek shelter in warm, cozy confines, the hair-raising denizens of the night come out to play. The hollow winds carry more than the skittering sounds of dead leaves
 Ten creepy tales that will leave you checking your windows and tucking yourself safely under the covers await in this book. Perfect for lingering evenings around the campfire, or golden afternoons with a blanket and warm apple cider, the third installment of the Autumn Nights Charity Anthologies is brimming with creepy crawlies. Not only are the stories low on gore and safe for readers 16 and up, but your purchase will help your fellow humans. All royalties from this anthology will be donated to RIP Medical Debt, a non-profit that purchases bulk medical debt and pays it off for those most in need. No family should have to choose between medical care and a home. The Skittering by Mallory Kelly Dreamweaver by Jaecyn BonĂ© Deathbed Confessions Are Not Beholden to NDAs by Frank L Tybush V New Life by Helen Whistberry The Sublime Desdemona Scarlet by Jacob Klop Prey by Brendon Pohner The Nest by Fay Lane The Bitten Rush by L.T. Ward Pandora’s Attic by Jerusha RenĂ© The Protectors by A.W. Wang *These stories are intended to be safe reading for Young Adults and Adults alike, with no graphic/explicit violence or sexual situations. In this book, The Bitten Rush does have the trigger warning of addiction. Each book in the series can be read in any order, as there is no relationship between the stories from one book to the next. Want to start with this one and help relieve crushing medical debt? Go for it!


The Girl in White

The Girl in White by Shannon Reber

Two years before, Madison Meyer’s best friend killed herself . . . or that’s what they all believed. The truth about Emma’s death was something only Emma and her killer knew. Now, Emma’s spirit has returned to try and show Maddie what really happened to her. Seventeen-year-old Madison’s life has just begun to go back to something that resembles normal for a genius level girl with a special proclivity for anything electronic. Computers were the world she immersed herself in after the death of her friend. Now, Maddie has to figure out what really happened to Emma, using the intelligence that is her stock and trade. The trouble is, lives are being lost. Can Maddie and her friend Ian figure out the mystery of Emma’s death before it’s too late? Find out in this gripping mystery which is the first book in the exciting series to come!


The Razorblades in My Head

The Razorblades in My Head by Donnie Goodman

Scars are not a sign of where we have healed, they are a reminder of what we have buried beneath the skin: A talking toaster. A crabbing voyage that descends into chaos. Malevolent snowmen. The debut of a mysterious indie wrestler. A sacrifice in need of an hourglass. A paranormal cremator in search of a friend...and other choice cuts from the mind of Donnie Goodman. The razorblades have emerged. It is time to dig.


Rebellion

Rebellion by Kim Petersen, J. Thorn, and Zach Bohannon

WriteHive Book Club

If you knew the truth, would you live in shackles or die for freedom? High above the ruins of Seattle sits the Nest, a settlement filled with the aristocratic Crow class, governed by the iron fist of Lord Corvus. For decades, Rayna and her fellow Hydrans have crawled the bottom of Lake Union for scrap metal which they trade with the Crows until a mysterious boy shows up and shares a disturbing, dark secret with Rayna—one that could bring the factions to the brink of war. Will Rayna fight for the truth even if it costs her everything? Is she fated to spark the Rebellion? Rebellion is the new dystopian thriller set in a post-apocalyptic world from bestselling authors, J. Thorn, Zach Bohannon, and Kim Petersen, the first book in the Stone the Crows trilogy.


Coyote Songs

Coyote Songs by Gabino Iglesias

Indie Recs Indie

In Gabino Iglesias’ second novel, ghosts and old gods guide the hands of those caught up in a violent struggle to save the soul of the American southwest. A man tasked with shuttling children over the border believes the Virgin Mary is guiding him towards final justice. A woman offers colonizer blood to the Mother of Chaos. A boy joins corpse destroyers to seek vengeance for the death of his father.These stories intertwine with those of a vengeful spirit and a hungry creature to paint a timely, compelling, pulpy portrait of revenge, family, and hope.


Always Beside You

Always Beside You by Damir Salkovic

Help her open the door. It wants to come through
 First, the dream. Now this message from the mouth of a stranger. It was too much of a coincidence for Nate Carver, and has him dropping everything to help a woman he hasn't even thought about in eight years, not since the overdose that almost took Cathy Deveraux's life. The prison escape of Thomas Elbert stirs up memories for Detective Alec Palmer, and the man's death raises questions. Why would a catatonic convicted killer suddenly wake up and escape, only to commit suicide days later? Or was it murder? And what connection did he have to Nate Carver, a man on the run with a daughter he never knew he had? All roads lead to Boston, where, in their search for answers, they will be drawn into the dark world of the occult and mysticism. Of parallel worlds and alternate realities. Of doors that open onto other times and other worlds. Of dreams that won’t be denied. By the time they realize they are merely pawns in a much bigger game, a game where the fate of the world is at stake, will it be too late?


Loathsome Voyages

Loathsome Voyages by Chris Durston CD Storiz

A blood-soaked writing desk. A town where going missing is ominously routine. A portal to another dimension within a mirror. Inside these pages are tales of gods and monsters, of madness and obsession, of passion and unknowable terrors. Loathsome Voyages presents tales ranging from the delectably dark to the shockingly surreal. Some possess an uncanny horror, others a frightful beauty. All are journeys into strange worlds from which you may never return. Inspired by the work of weird fiction masters old and new--from Lovecraft to Miéville, from Hodgson to VanderMeer--this treacherous, eldritch volume brings together fourteen of today's best authors of speculative fiction. Join Skullgate Media as we embark on our most Loathsome Voyages.Contains stories by B.K. Bass, Chris Durston, Gary A. Fagan, Zack Friday, Anthony Harris, Christopher Harris, Mackenzie Litledale, Michael D. Nadeau, Michelle River, J.L. Royce, Mark J. Shultis, CD Storiz, and C. Vandyke. Edited by CD Storiz and Chris Durston. For more information about Skullgate Media go to www.skullgatemedia.com or follow us on Twitter as @skullgatemedia


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