Category Archives: short fiction

Masks out now featuring “Blood & Gingerbread”

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Masks - final coverWhat a great way to start off autumn. My latest story “Blood & Gingerbread” has just released as part of the anthology Masks from Black Shuck Books, an imprint of Great British Horror. It seems I am becoming a British author by proxy as this is my second in a series of at least four sequential books lined up with British presses.

This story was fun to write. Inspired by Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” and real-world accounts of militant separatist compounds, “Blood & Gingerbread” is set in a secluded community where bizarre annual rituals keep death at bay. It explores the raw human need to control, holding domain over violence, nature, families, behavior, life, and death. What happens when that power is disrupted?

Check out the table of contents below featuring some of the great writers you’ll find in the independent horror field right now. Masks is edited by Dean M Drinkel and the cover art is by the late and great illustrator James Powell, may he rest in peace.

  • PORCELAIN  by James Everington
  • BLOOD & GINGERBREAD  by D T Griffith
  • THE HOUSE OF A THOUSAND FACES  by Chris Stokes
  • VARIETY NIGHT  by Russell Proctor
  • AFTER THE END, THE BEGINNING  by Christine Morgan and Lucas Williams
  • THE MAN WHO FED THE FOXES  by Phil Sloman
  • MANY HAPPY RETURNS  by Kyle Rader
  • TRIXIE  by Christopher Beck
  • THE FACE COLLECTOR  by Stephanie Ellis
  • AN ABSENT HOST  by F A Nosić
  • THE SILENCING MACHINE  by Clockhouse London Writers
  • HIS LAST PORTRAIT  by Adrian Cole
  • THE JAR BY THE DOOR  by Icy Sedgwick

Purchasing info and other details are available on Black Shuck Book’s site: blackshuck.greatbritishhorror.com/masks.

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“The Last Gun” published on the digital edition of Section 8 Magazine

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Art by Guinotte Wise

Art by Guinotte Wise

I’m please to announce publication of my dystopian story “the Last Gun” in the digital edition of Section 8 Magazine, an international art and literary publication based in Seattle, Washington, US.

A story of unrequited love and casual violence, “The Last Gun” tells of the Newsman, a self-appointed traveling storyteller, news carrier, and merchant. He pays a routine visit to one of his usual stops – a decrepit American city inhabited by a young population descended from the survivors of a catastrophic civil war. He brings with him news of other communities, old songs, and what is purported to be the last known gun.

You may read the story in full here, no subscription is required: Section8Magazine.com/the-last-gun/.

Phobophobias is on Sale Now!

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Phobophobias cover wrap

My latest published story, “U is for Ufophobia: Streaks of Green” is available … Phobophobias is on Sale Now!.

Where to buy:

Amazon US

» Paperback
» Kindle eBook

Amazon UK

» Paperback
» Kindle eBook

CreateSpace eStore

» Paperback

Announcing Phobophobias for Halloween 2014

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This new anthology from Western Legends Publishing, Phobophobias, contains my story “U is for Ufophobia: Streaks of Green.”

Western Legends Publishing

Phobophobias - cover front

Western Legends is proud to announce our latest horror anthology from editor Dean M. Drinkel: Phobophobias. The release date is set for October 31, 2014.

Twenty-six original stories by established masters of horror and talented new voices comprise this anthology of terror, mystery and suspense. Phobophobias continues the explorations of our darkest fears that started with the 2011 indie hit Phobophobia.

More details, and sales info when release, can be found on the Phobophobias page.

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New book release: Don’t Look Back featuring my story: “The Elusive Pettibone”

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Don't Look BackI’m excited to announce the publication of my latest story, “The Elusive Pettibone” as part of the anthology Don’t Look Back: Thirteen Terrifying Tales of Urban Folklore from Dark Moon Press.

“The Elusive Pettibone” is my origin story for the White Lady of Union Graveyard set in Easton, Connecticut. The legend of the White Lady is a popular case studied and written about by the renowned paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. I first learned of the legend while attending one of their speaking events in Stamford, CT in the late 1990s. As there is no official record of who exactly the White Lady was, I found it a great opportunity to explore this subject that is both familiar to me and located close to home.

The story follows the tragic tale of the slightly off-balance Angela Pettibone on a life-long search for her lost son, Henry, whom no one, not even her husband, believed to have existed. The story includes a subtle nod to another of the Warrens’s mot famous cases, Annabelle, featuring a doll with red hair. By complete coincidence, Annabelle is now a major motion picture that was just released in theaters this past weekend.

It was a pleasure working with editor David Lingbloom during the writing process, which coincided with the first of two neck surgeries I have endured over the past ten months. I appreciate his patience in working with me as I pushed through a physically debilitating phase in my life.

You can check out David Lingbloom’s blog here: http://hearsesay.wordpress.com.

Please consider supporting this creative endeavor and read some scary and entertaining stories just in time for the Halloween season.

Don’t Look Back is currently available in paperback and ebook.

Order from the publisher, Dark Moon Press:
Paperback: http://www.darkmoonpress.com/product/dont-look-back/

Order from Amazon:
Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1502312638/
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OAAHOUU/