Youth usually is linked with limitless dreams and unbound potential. A worry free time where no obstacles are insurmountable. Indeed, nothing can stop Tim and Moira as they prepare to start their lives after high school graduation, except perhaps a prank gone horribly wrong, an untimely death or two, and the patient workings of a vengeful spirit.I pray that this message is heard. Excuse me if my speech is hard to decipher. My name is John Laman. I am a thirty-three year old scientist, and a convicted criminal. But I am innocent of the crimes that they say I committed. I know it sounds like an especially bad cliché, but it is the truth. I am telling you this now while I still can, because in a matter of minutes my mind will be elsewhere...Dr. John Laman is the inventor of The Bubble, the most sophisticated criminal rehabilitation technology ever invented. Never, in his wildest nightmares, did he dream he would be its first prisoner.Inside The Bubble is a short story of 3000 words, from the author of the bestselling Emma Holden suspense mystery trilogy and standalone mystery, Someone to Save You.

What if the world's worst serial killer...was your dad? Jasper "Jazz" Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say. But he's also the son of the world's most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could—from the criminal's point of view. And now bodies are piling up in Lobo's Nod. In an effort to clear his name, Jazz joins the police in a hunt for a new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret—could he be more like his father than anyone knows?

Horace Walpole's classic novel, regarded as the first gothic novel ever published and starting the influential genre.

In Testament, the first story in award winning author Adam Lance Garcia’s From the Pen of…, a desperate man literally relates his last words amid a miasma of murder and madness. Writing as the seconds of his life fall away like sands in a busted hour glass, the once confident, happy soul reveals that terror not only has a face and that the Devil may indeed wander through the snow.Pro Se Productions, the home of the Pro Se Single Shot Signature line of digital singles, announces the first of its Signature imprints. From the Pen of Adam Lance Garcia is the company’s first writer focused digital single imprint within its highly successful Pro Se Single Shot Signature line. Featuring stand-alone tales by today’s best writers, From the Pen of… will feature stories of all genres by both up and coming and notable authors.In Testament, the first story in award winning author Adam Lance Garcia’s From the Pen of…, a desperate man literally relates his last words amid a miasma of murder and madness. Writing as the seconds of his life fall away like sands in a busted hour glass, the once confident, happy soul reveals that terror not only has a face and that the Devil may indeed wander through the snow. Testament by Adam Lance Garcia is the first digital single in his author imprint from Pro Se Productions.

After getting into an argument with her boy-friend while driving home from a party, Angela finds herself stranded on an abandoned road in the dead of night. Then she meets an unfamiliar woman who ap-pears to be equally lost and lonely. But what Angela doesn’t know is that her immediate trust in this stranger might have disastrous conse-quences…‘Kurungabaa’ is a Dharawal word for the Australian pelican, a handsome bird with a peculiar way of gliding low over the waves. We have chosen it to express respect for the Dharawal country where we love to surf, to celebrate the continuing culture of the Dharawal people, and to acknowledge the memory of the Dharawal people’s ancestors.Kurungabaa is a not-for-profit volunteer publication, and is published bi-annually (June and December) as a hard copy by the generosity of subscribers and donors. Digital versions of the earlier and current editions are available from 2011 onwards, check the better-known online stores.Kurungabaa publishes diverse genres including poetry, fiction, reflective and scholarly essays, memoirs, review essays, and interviews. Four pages each issue are made available for a photo essay or series of art reproductions by a single photographer or artist.Emerging writers from coastlines around the world are encouraged to submit their work. Several pages will be dedicated to emerging authors in each issue. Editorial and writing assistance can be arranged, if requested.Indigenous writers, surfers and artists are encouraged to join in kurungabaa’s production, both as members of the editorial collective and as contributors. Every issue aims to contain material on surfing-related Indigenous history, culture and politics.More info and submissions to kurungabaa.net

A trio of short but sweet zombie tales ranging from suspenseful to quirky and weird, and finally a deft blend of humor-laced horror, these stories will entertain and surprise you.With “3-Z”, author Lori R. Lopez presents a brief set of zombie shorts to satisfy your cravings. In “Pound Of Flesh” a woman is trapped next to a hungry moldering maniac when a Halloween Zombie Walk turns real. “A Big Problem” is a darkly humorous bizarro piece that presents a cross-eyed view of The Undead. “Knock Knock” describes what can happen when a Trick-Or-Treater isn’t actually wearing a costume.

A tale about redemption, forgiveness, unforgivness, the Guinness Book of World Records, the Bible, God, and sex.We were told that this is a good story. Fight Club is a good story, Catch-22 is a good story, War and Peace is a descent story, this is nothing. But it does have the following: the very first murder; sex; coffee shops; witty banter; sex; humor; cleverness; conquers-all love; a hipster; an unreliable narrator; sprinkled references to historical events; brilliance; human sacrifice; profound philosophical revelations; a Metallica song; and eye-opening ideas.

They are dying, one by one: wealthy middle-aged women in an exclusive Connecticut suburb. Their murderer remains at large. Nora Chancel, wife of publishing scion Davey Chancel, fears she may be next. After all, her past has branded her a victim. . . . ** * Then Davey tells Nora a surreal story about the Hellfire Club, where, years before, he met an obsessed fan of Chancel House’s most successful book, Night Journey—a book that has a strange history of its own. . . . **Suddenly terror engulfs Nora: She must defend herself against fantastic accusations even as a madman lies in wait. And when he springs, Nora will embark on a night journey that will put her fears to rest forever, dead or alive. . . . From the Paperback edition.

Robert E. Howard is one of the most famous and influential pulp authors of the twentieth century. Though largely known as the man who invented the sword-and-sorcery genre-and for his iconic hero Conan the Cimmerian-Howard also wrote horror tales, desert adventures, detective yarns, epic poetry, and more. This spectacular volume, gorgeously illustrated by Jim and Ruth Keegan, includes some of his best and most popular works. Inside, readers will discover (or rediscover) such gems as "The Shadow Kingdom," featuring Kull of Atlantis and considered by many to be the first sword-and-sorcery story; "The Fightin'est Pair," part of one of Howard’s most successful series, chronicling the travails of Steve Costigan, a merchant seaman with fists of steel and a head of wood; "The Grey God Passes," a haunting tale about the passing of an age, told against the backdrop of Irish history and legend; “Worms of the Earth,” a brooding narrative featuring Bran Mak Morn, about which H. P. Lovecraft said, "Few readers will ever forget the hideous and compelling power of this] macabre masterpiece"; a historical poem relating a momentous battle between Cimbri and the legions of Rome; and "Sharp's Gun Serenade," one of the last and funniest of the Breckinridge Elkins tales. These thrilling, eerie, compelling, swashbuckling stories and poems have been restored to their original form, presented just as the author intended. There is little doubt that after more than seven decades the voice of Robert E. Howard continues to resonate with readers around the world. "From the Trade Paperback edition."

This spectacular collection of 13 dark, haunting tales by bestselling author Straub exposes the terrors that hide beneath the surface of the ordinary world, behind the walls of houses without doors. "Straub at his spellbinding best".--Publishers Weekly.

Viv wasn't sure about the new zombie pool boy. That is, until he walked out of the shallow end... and straight into her heart!FLASH FICTION SHORT STORYJacob and Talon get a surprise when they head out to target practice. A zombie. Not a big deal in their world post-infection. But this zombie is different. And it just might change everything.This is a FLASH fiction short story. It is a prequel to the upcoming EMPTY (Evolution Zombie Book 1) coming out in July 2011. --FLASH FICTION SHORT STORY--1270 wordcount--Approximately 5 pages

...breaking as it did on the stillness of the night, amid this dreary waste of ice and snow, where there was not an object to remind us of life, and not a sound seemed ever to have been heard.The log of a citizen of the dead; this is the chronicling of one man who is numbered among the walking dead after a city is plagued with an infection that eliminates the people's natural ability to create red blood cells. Their bodies rot away, but the mind is left harrowingly intact.

Two reporters interview a strange humpbacked man in a house where previous owners conducted gruesome experiments. This story is a selection from Scary Stories: A Collection of Horror-Volume 4. Hark! This is a story for readers who enjoy a good scare. If limbs being hacked off make you queasy, don't read it. Otherwise, enjoy the horror.Alex and Mia, two reporters from the Daily Chronicle, need a final article for tomorrow's edition. Mia is hellbent to interview a strange humpbacked man the neighborhood kids nicknamed "Creepy" after he came to town in a hearse. The strange recluse had recently taken up residence in an infamous house unoccupied for many years where a mad doctor conducted gruesome experiments on homeless people over a forty-year period. This story is a selection from Scary Stories: A Collection of Horror-Volume 4. Hark! This is a story for readers who enjoy a good scare. If limbs being hacked off make you queasy, don't read this story. Otherwise, enjoy the horror.

After the sun turned, Madelyn fled north to escape the riots and the encroaching glaciers. As long as the world was ending, she wanted to live her final days in the one place she had always been happy—her grandmother's cabin. She survived the Roamers, the scavengers, and the wildlife, but she can't escape her fear of dying alone.After the sun turned, Madelyn fled north to escape the riots and the encroaching glaciers. As long as the world was ending, she wanted to live her final days in the one place she had always been happy—her grandmother's cabin. She survived the Roamers, the scavengers, and the wildlife, but she can't escape her fear of dying alone.She left behind this note:"Gather my bones, if you find them. If a bear hasn’t dragged them off, or a wolf cracked them for my marrow. My skull goes on the wall with the others. Any other remains can be planted near Sacrifice Rock. That’s where my grandfather is buried, and where I dug up the skull of my beloved grandmother.Her sweet eyes were still wise and kind, even when I only imagined them from their hollow sockets. She taught us so many things—how to hunt, trap, and fish. She should have taught me how to live alone. I never learned the trick of scaring away the ghosts. They won’t shut up and leave me in peace. I guess it's time to join them."—MadelynThis series is continued in "Madelyn's Mistake" and "Madelyn's Last Dance".

Countdown: A Joe Ledger Prequel Short Story to Patient Zero "I didn't plan to kill anyone. I wasn't totally against the idea, either. Sometimes things just fall that way, and either you roll with it or it rolls over you. Letting the bad guys win isn't how I roll." Meet Joe Ledger, Baltimore PD, attached to a Homeland task force… who's about to get a serious promotion.