SteveWestenra author

The Erstwhile Tyler Kyle by Steve Hugh Westenra

SPFBO10

Tyler Kyle doesn’t believe in monsters. A washed-up thirty-year-old actor and reluctant cryptid investigator, Tyler is used to playing the Scully to his best friend Josh’s Mulder on their stupidly popular YouTube channel. But when Tyler receives previously unseen footage of the B movie bombshell mother who abandoned him eighteen years ago—footage linked to an isolated island in the Canadian wilderness—the mystery is one conspiracy he’s determined to investigate. The fact that following the scent gives Tyler an excuse to run away from the “straight” Josh, whom he drunkenly made out with, is just the cherry on the shit sundae. But Echo Island isn’t what it seems. Its eerily scenic veneer hides a twisted secret buried in its roots as a gay conversion camp, and as Tyler retraces his mother’s footsteps, he discovers a supernatural connection between the residents and the island—one they seem to think Tyler and his mother share. Even worse, the footage of Tyler’s mom came from someone on the island–a stalker whose obsessive fascination with both Tyler and Josh is about to make Tyler wish he hadn’t gone this one alone. Puppeteered by his stalker, searching for his mother, and debating whether it’s possible to queerbait yourself, Tyler comes to realize that it doesn’t matter so much whether you believe in monsters, if they believe in you. THE ERSTWHILE TYLER KYLE is an adult horror comedy for fans of GHOST FILES, BUZZFEED UNSOLVED, and TWIN PEAKS.

The Wings of Ashtaroth by Steve Hugh Westenra

SPFBO9

The great city of Qemassen is at a crossroads. A powerful empire from beyond the ocean threatens to reignite a centuries-old feud. A slave rebellion brews in the tangled labyrinth of tunnels beneath the city streets. And Crown Prince Ashtaroth, the city’s supposed saviour, is considered unfit to rule even by those closest to him. When the high priest burns one of the royal children alive as a desperate offering to the city’s absentee gods, it destroys the fragile peace within Qemassen’s scheming first family. Seeking revenge for the death of her child, Ashtaroth’s mother calls on a powerful demon named Lilit. But Lilit cannot be trusted. Her cruel machinations pit brother against sister and father against daughter, laying waste to Ashtaroth’s family. Then Lilit approaches Ashtaroth with a demonic pact of his own – one that could save his people and his home. But between war from within and a revolution erupting within, even a demon may not be enough to keep Qemassen standing. Set in a secondary world based on the conflict between Ancient Carthage and Rome, The Wings of Ashtaroth is a sprawling, multi-PoV epic fantasy, full of queerness, political intrigue, and demons.

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