These twelve short stories, eight of them previously published in magazines or anthologies, contain magic, monsters, ghosts, history, beer, Scotland, scifi, fantasy, horror, singing, more beer and fun.If you're looking for a longer taster of my work, this is more of who I am.These twelve short stories, eight of them previously published in magazines or anthologies, contain magic, monsters, ghosts, history, beer, Scotland, scifi, fantasy, horror, singing, more beer and fun. This is also who I am.

Raven has been viciously bashed by his father ever since he can remember. Every day is fresh hell, until he is given a chance to change it all. He is confronted by a voice which promises a way of getting revenge for his suffering. Armed with a pocketknife and insatiable blood lust, this rage-filled teenager has to choose to either kill or be killed, and Raven has already chosen not to die...A mother awaits her son's visit in the nineteenth century before his life - and her life - will change forever. A short story of a mother's love and belief in her son's future greatness, you will walk away smiling, learning about a little known woman in American history that enabled a nation's greatest change with her belief in literacy and love of a son... who wasn't even her real child.

Murder and mystery reach epidemic proportions when a devastating plague sweeps the country. Dr. Marissa Blumenthal of the Atlanta Centers for Disease Control investigates--and soon uncovers the medical world's deadliest secret.

Zombies! It's not the end of the world.Shawn of the Dead is the first of a series of episodes that focuses on the more personal aspects of people as they face their regular lives against the backdrop of a zombie infection.Shawn Rudd is an almost average high school senior on his way to meet up with his secret lover when he encounters what appears to be a zombie. His reaction to this encounter will change the course of his life forever.Detective Johan Stemmy and his partner are called in to investigate a strange murder. The victim's time of death predates the murder by several hours. As the word "zombie" begins to enter their vocabulary, Stemmy and his partner must begin to redefine their experience as homicide detectives and accept what simply cannot be.Join these and other characters as they try to live their regular lives despite intrusion of zombies into the populace. With the rules of society altered forever, can society survive?

‘A loud bang was heard from above, scaring the boys. They shined their lights up the stairwell. The sounds of chains rattling on the floor stirred the dust above. Something or someone was up there. Doug, hiding his fear, took a couple of more steps up. Brandon and Kyle looked at him, their feet locked in place. They had no intention of going any further.’‘A loud bang was heard from above, scaring the boys. They shined their lights up the stairwell. The sounds of chains rattling on the floor stirred the dust above. Something or someone was up there. Doug, hiding his fear, took a couple of more steps up. Brandon and Kyle looked at him, their feet locked in place. They had no intention of going any further.’The old, abandoned Saint Vincent Hospital is said to be haunted by the ghost of David Henry Coleman, the notorious serial killer, known as The Mangler. Coleman died on the fourth floor after being shot by police. For the three Jr. High boys, their curiosity gets the best of them as they explore the old hospital, despite ‘Old Man’ Jake’s warning. No one knew of Jake’s dark connection to the killer and the hospital. And now, on the anniversary of The Mangler’s death, a group of high school kids are planning a private party on the haunted fourth floor. Jake must keep everyone out and protect them from the true evil that lurks on Floor Four.

Vampires Don't Cry: Blood Samples is a free sampler of the vampire worlds and writing styles of Ian Hall and April L. Miller.It includes;New Blood 1: Donny KelpNew Blood 2: The Turning of Alan RandSegments/samples of Original Sin, Vampire High School, and Connecticut Vampire series.The first four chapters of Vampire High School (Vampires Don't Cry: Book 1)The first four chapters of A ConneVampires Don't Cry: Blood Samples is a free sampler of the vampire worlds and writing styles of Ian Hall and April L. Miller.It includes;The whole of New Blood 1: Donny KelpThe whole of New Blood 2: The Turning of Alan RandSegments/samples of Original Sin, (the Valerie Lidowitz story)The first four chapters of Vampire High School (Vampires Don't Cry: Book 1)The first four chapters of A Connecticut Vampire in King Arthur's Court (Connecticut Vampire 1)

What's better than staying up all night? Be careful what you wish for.From the anthology collection CONFESSIONS OF A VELOUR-SHIRTED MAN.A modern fairytale about a talking, giant-killing cat with ambitions. The farmyard animals are eager to imitate his example by learning to speak and throwing off the yolk of servitude. All except for silent Mr Simpkins, the grey cat who is as plump as an overstuffed cushion but not so dumb as he looks...

Two short stories for your enjoyment.A HOME TO DIE FOR originally published in Alienskin Magazine.A man has interesting ideas about remodeling his home.THE ADJUSTER:Saving the world brings a high personal price.If they're going to whisper anyway, give them something to shout! The only thing that’s kept me from being a nobody is my red hair, but most people still get my name wrong or call me: ‘Matchstick,’ instead. You know… skinny body, big red head? I’d like to write my peers off as idiots but unfortunately, I owe a teacher for that one! Being invisible sucks. So to get some attention, I punched my boyfriend for dumping me for my best friend in the middle of math class, broke the school captain’s leg and threw myself at the delicious new guy… right in front of the queen b-cup bi-artch Sonia, who wants Saxon too. I was shameless. Trampy… and now I’m bad news with no school spirit. ...Apparently. They call it: ‘Gossip’ and not ‘The News’ for a reason! I swear that I only did most of that stuff. I think. I don’t know… I was pretty mad so it’s hard to remember... and Saxon Clarke is so pretty that I could cry! Well, I’m not invisible anymore. And if that American PE teacher thinks that handing me a pair of Pom Poms is going to set me straight... then she’s onto something. It’s time for this Matchstick to light up. Just don’t tell anyone I said that… this is high school after all, and liking yourself or hoping for anything is just asking for it...

What is worse than being a monster? Knowing you are one. Emma knows it all too well - though she has been trying to keep it a secret while looking for a cure. Now though the CDC are closing in, the Zombie who bit her is showing an interest in her life and a thug she gave the virus to is bent on revenge. Emma must make unlikely friends if she wants to survive long enough to find a cure.What is worse than being a monster? Knowing you are one. Emma knows it all too well - though she has been trying to keep it a secret while looking for a cure. Now though the CDC are closing in, the Zombie who bit her is showing an interest in her life and a thug she gave the virus to is bent on revenge. Emma must make unlikely friends if she wants to survive long enough to find a cure.Others are saying:“A zombie as a hero. Well, a heroine actually. Fast, dynamic and witty. An excellent and (thank god) creative take on the genre. The author's style kind of reminds me of Christopher Moore (author of You Suck, Lamb, etc.) so if you're looking for something different and entertaining it's well worth a read.”“I read the whole book with a sense not dissimilar to Déjà vu - the medical reasoning behind the virus felt a little too real, like I was looking into an alternate, doomed, universe.”“I'm not an especially fast reader, but I ripped right through this book and I want more - kind of like if I were a zombie and just fed on a nice, fat nerd brain.”

This story is a melding of magic and machine, of tradition and revolution, as the man known as Frank Rush deals with a very nasty situation.It was Easter Sunday; the day Lilly's life went from safe and comfortable to dangerously unfamiliar. Her transformation takes her from a small town girl having an affair with a low ranked gangster in the Montiago crime syndicate, to a woman of grace and fortitude married to the head of the organization. Easter's Lilly is an inspired journey from the idyllic to the darker side of self-discovery. Read as the over-privileged brothers embark on their journey that twists and turns down the road of unbridled passion in this first book of the series.

A mysterious house harbors an unimaginable secret. . . . It’s wartime, and the Carver family decides to leave the capital where they live and move to a small coastal village where they’ve recently bought a home. But from the minute they cross the threshold, strange things begin to happen. In that mysterious house there still lurks the spirit of Jacob, the previous owners’ son, who died by drowning. With the help of their new friend Roland, Max and Alicia Carver begin to explore the suspicious circumstances of that death and discover the existence of a mysterious being called The Prince of Mist—a diabolical character who has returned from the shadows to collect on a debt from the past. Soon the three friends find themselves caught up in an adventure of sunken ships and an enchanted stone garden, which will change their lives forever.

McCammon's novel "takes place during a single twenty-four hour period in Inferno, Texas. Inferno is a town in trouble, driven to the brink by racial tension, gang violence, and a collapsing economy. But things can always get worse, and they do so with astonishing speed when an unidentified spacecraft crash lands in the desert outside of town, followed by a second craft bearing the alien being who will soon be known as Stinger. Stinger is a kind of interstellar hunter on a mission he intends to complete, whatever the cost. He brings with him an endless array of technological marvels and an infinite capacity for destruction that threaten the existence of Inferno, its inhabitants, and the larger world beyond"--Dust jacket flap.

Fyodor Volkov had risen from nothing to be wealthy beyond his dreams. But the zombie plague had forced him to retreat to his vacation house in the suburbs of Moscow, and he soon found himself scrabbling for subsistence like everyone else.This is the seventh story in the series. A new story will be released each week through the end of 2011 and beginning of 2012.Every housewife needs an alias. Donna Stone has one--and it happens to be government-sanctioned.Oh sure, you need to be ruthless to take on Russian mafia bosses, rogue dictators, and terrorists set on destroying the world. But it takes real killer instincts to survive suburbia. Try juggling the fifth grade phone tree during a shootout with skinhead arms dealers, or driving carpool while being chased by Chinese double agents.Donna’s life wasn’t always this complicated. Five years earlier she was just another woman with two preschoolers, a baby bump, and an adoring husband: Carl, with whom she lived happily ever after in a McMansion in the Orange County, California community of Hilldale. But Donna’s life was changed forever the night she delivered her baby: Carl’s car blew up on the way to the hospital.Turns out Carl was a “hard man”—an assassin—for the black ops organization known as Acme Industries. The hit on Carl was carried out by the Quorum, a terrorist cell he was tracking. The Quorum’s motto: “Show me the money.” Governments and corporations do as they’re told—or suffer bloody consequences.Carl left something behind that the Quorum wants badly. To protect herself and avenge Carl’s death, Donna joined Acme. Whereas her hostessing skills rival Martha Stewart’s, her marksmanship is second to none.A good thing, too, because the Quorum has planted a sleeper cell in Hilldale. For Donna, that’s too close for comfort. Will she be able to save her family before the Quorum blows up Los Angeles?Acme’s way of flushing out the Quorum is by “bringing Carl back from the dead.” But terrorism makes strange bedfellows--and brings new meaning to that old adage “Honey, I’m home…”*Not her real name."Adorable is not usually the word that comes to mind with a title like The Housewife Assassin’s Handbook, but it was just what I needed to pull me out of my reading doldrums. From the handy little homemaker/assassin tips at the beginning of each chapter to the thankless job of being a single parent with catty neighbors, this book hits all the right notes. Donna works for the good guys, Acme Industries, undercover by taking down drug lords and terrorists with a matter-0f-fact attitude while worrying about making it to her carpooling duties.Granted, the book ended with a hook that made me want to immediately get the next one, which is always a smart move and I was excited to see that there are actually 11 books in the series (including a prequel). I now want a week at the beach to read them all. Think Alias meets Desperate Housewives meets The Scarecrow and Mrs. King. Live a little, add some spice to your life, give this little book a try and give yourself a reason to smile. I know I did and now I’m completely smitten." -- Barbara Vey, BarbaraVey.com

A collector of antiquities gets more than she bargained for when she receives a gift from a former romantic rival that begins a horrific series of events.A 300-line poem about a man who decides to visit such a graveyard in October near midnight, in hopes of seeing a ghost. He stumbles across the field as a storm approaches.I've got to tell you that he sees only parts of what might be a ghost - not a very satisfying result, and then retreats to his car. That's all. Yet this is one of the finest and most affecting modern poems for reading out loud. It will haunt you.

Bad girl gone good! Good girl in peril! Six months after events transpiring in The Temptation of John Haynes, former She-demon E’steem is now on the side of the angels. Further down the down the straight and narrow path, she’s attacked by D’lilah a young ambitious she-demon out to move up the ladder in the Hierarchy of Hell. And the only way she can do that is by killing E’steem.it is about the first job I had at 20 years old and it goes on to describe some of the things I did and learned as I went on to over six years at that job. it is witty and has some good times in there as well as the small, but sobering affect of the ups and down of the job. I focus more on the good things for the most part because there was some fun things I have done while working for a dry cleaners in my neighborhood and beyond. I truly felt that job was the job that gave me freedom in ways no one could ever know as I had went onto other things afterwards.