May is Short Story Month!

May is Short Story Month and I'll be celebrating by reading nothing but short fiction this month.

My short story, "Mr. Tucker & Me," is now FREE to download on Amazon to encourage other humans to read some short fiction this May.

Amazon: US | UK | CA | AU

It Came From Hell and Smashed the Angels for FREE!

This short story is FREE everywhere!



Pick an online store:

 Amazon (US) | Barnes & Noble (Nook) | Kobo | Apple iBook | Smashwords (ePub)

A FREE Slice of Thanksgiving Meat!

As a 'thank you' to all readers of bizarre and horrible things, I offer up this slab of short fiction for FREE on this glorious Turkey Day.

Amazon US | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Australia

The Riggle Twins: FREE through 10/5/16!

Celebrate the Month of Halloween and the existence of Bad Apples 3: Seven Slices of Halloween Horror by reading the very first story from the very first Bad Apples collection for FREE! (10/1/16 - 10/5/16)

Grab it now!

Short Story Month Draws to a Close

I'm capping off Short Story Month with a friendly reminder that you can grab a couple of my short stories for FREE, if you'd like.

You can grab "It Came From Hell and Smashed the Angels" for FREE from all over the place.

Amazon US
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
Apple iBook
Smashwords



Also, if you subscribe to my New Release Mailing List, I'll send you a weird fairy tale called "I Will Tell You About Knoist."

You can go here to learn more and to subscribe.

Or, if you'd prefer to sign up via e-mail or through social media, you may do that, too. Here's a link to a list of places where you can contact me.

Celebrate Short Story Month with Edward Lorn's "The Morning Dew"

It's FREE (today only). It's a bit of weird horror. It's by Edward Lorn. It's Short Story Month!

Grab it!

Kangaroos, Jane Does, killer canines, and an ice storm

Four more short stories read in celebration of Short Story Month:

"The Kangaroo Communique," by Haruki Murakami  (from The Elephant Vanishes) - A bizarre and frightening response to a customer service complaint.

"Alphinland," by Margaret Atwood (from Stone Mattress: Nine Tales) - A sad tale of mourning and escapist fantasy.

"Unlicensed Surgery," by Richard McGowan (Available from the author upon request) - A dark fantasy with an interesting take on a creature from folklore.

"The Steel Valentine," by Joe R. Lansdale (FREE at Amazon) - A bloody noir tale of revenge and revenge.

FREE Short Fiction from the Bad Apples People

Short story month continues and I felt it was appropriate to let folks know about some FREE short fiction available from the semi-humans behind the anthologies Bad Apples: Five Slices of Halloween Horror and Dead Roses: Five Dark Tales of Twisted Love.

"Serving Spirits," by Adam Light (Download FREE from Amazon)
"Crawlspace," by Evans Light (Download FREE from Amazon)
"Easy Pickings," by Jason Parent (Download FREE from Amazon)
"Got Your Goat," by Edward Lorn (Read it FREE online)
"I Will Tell You About Knoist," by Gregor Xane (Exclusive to New Release Mailing List Subscribers)
"It Came From Hell and Smashed the Angels," by Gregor Xane (Download FREE from Amazon, B&N, Kobo, or iTunes)

Short Story Month 2015!

May is Short Story Month, and I'm celebrating by reading only short stories for the whole month. I'll be posting updates on what I'm reading and will be actively on the hunt for FREE short stories that I can share with readers.

To get us started, here's a list of some potentially award-winning science-fiction short stories you can read/download for FREE:

2015 Hugo Awards Finalists

*I've not read any of these, and I've only included those that were easy to find for free online.

"One Bright Star to Guide Them, John C. Wright (Download for FREE from the publisher)
“Pale Realms of Shade”, John C. Wright (Download for FREE from the publisher)
“The Plural of Helen of Troy”, John C. Wright (Download for FREE from the publisher)

“The Parliament of Beasts and Birds”, John C. Wright (Download for FREE from the publisher)

“Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust, Earth to Alluvium”, Gray Rinehart (Read it FREE online)

“The Day the World Turned Upside Down”, Thomas Olde Heuvelt, Lia Belt translator (Read it FREE online)

“On A Spiritual Plain”, Lou Antonelli (Download EPUB or MOBI)

“Totaled”, Kary English (Read it FREE online)

Happy reading!

Mr. Tucker & Me is FREE for a limited time

As my holiday gift to you, Mr. Tucker & Me will be FREE to download from Amazon through 12/22/14.

WARNING: This short is not horror, and it's not a holiday story. It fits somewhere in the science-fiction & fantasy spectrum.

I hope you like it.

Got to Amazon and grab it!





And speaking of free, you can also grab "It Came From Hell and Smashed the Angels," if you're so inclined.

Write Good or Die by Scott Nicholson (Editor)

A collection of mostly out-dated blog posts. A bit of useful information here and there. Since you can nab it for free, you probably won't cry about it.

It Came From Hell and Smashed the Angels is FREE to Download EVERYWHERE

My short horror story "It Came From Hell and Smashed the Angels" is now available just about everywhere as a free eBook download.

If you've not already grabbed a copy, please feel free to do so.

Amazon (US) | Amazon (Canada) | Amazon (UK)
Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Apple iBook  | PayHip (Mobi & ePub)

Full Moon Over Cedar Hill by Edward Lorn (FREE DOWNLOAD)

Full disclosure: I served as a beta reader on this one, so my opinion could be seen as biased.

This little piece of horror handles some tough, real life subject matter that we'll all likely have to deal with at some time in our lives. To Lorn's credit, he doesn't exploit this element of real life horror in this tale. Instead, he treats all involved with the utmost respect. which, in turn, makes the events that unfold all the more horrific.

It's my understanding that this short story is available for free for a limited time (for the next five days, I think). Rumor also has it that this piece will be yanked from Amazon once the free giveaway ends.

I'd recommend that you side-load this bad boy or suck it down via Whispernet while supplies last.

Amazon (US) | Amazon (Canada) 

Amazon (UK) | Amazon (Australia)

Bay's End by Edward Lorn

This book could be shelved under horror or thriller/suspense. I'd lean more toward the thriller side of things, if it were my job to categorize it. However, if I were the librarian recommending this thing, I'd make sure people knew that this is at its core a coming of age story. I'd also let folks know that the first half is told at a pretty leisurely pace, which perfectly matches the mood of two young boys getting to know each other in an endless summer of nothing to do. It's not until around the 50% mark or so that you begin to realize the author's been sneakily setting up all the dominoes that go tumbling down in the last third of the book. This story transforms smoothly from a funny, almost bittersweet, story of childhood's end into a tense thriller. Nicely done.

I'm not one for framing mechanisms in stories, but Lorn puts the one he's constructed here to good effect. It serves the purpose of creating tension through dramatic irony. It breaks up the action a bit here and there, too. But, as a whole, I could have done without it.

I'm also not a fan of villains explaining their motivations and filling in all the holes in the story just before they are about to (unsuccessfully) kill the heroes. This happens twice in this book! Even though I'm not a fan of this trope, I don't despise it, and I understand why it happens in stories. If I truly hated every story that contained the 'villain explains' gag, I wouldn't like anything ever. I'm just saying I like it better when the author finds a different, better way.

It wasn't my intent to end this review on a sour note. This truly is a touching story and an exciting thriller. Pick it up. If you're so inclined, you can grab a copy for free from Amazon.

I'd recommend you do so.

National Short Story Month Recap

It looks like I read 67 short stories for National Short Story Month. I read a number of individually packaged shorts and four collections: Harmlessly Insane, A Modest Collection of Slightly Shocking Fairy Tales, Seeker, and What the Dark Brings.

Below you'll find the complete list of stories I read in May, presented in roughly the order in which I read them. If the story is currently available as a free download, I've added a link to the source page for your convenience.

"Whatever Possessed You?" by Evans Light
"Gertrude" by Evans Light
"Aboreatum" by Evans Light
"Nose Hears" by Evans Light
"The Mole People Beneath the City" by Evans Light
"Cry Baby" by Evans Light
"Pay Back" by Evans Light
"Curtains for Love" by Evans Light
"Candie Apple" by Evans Light
"The Package" by Evans Light
"Black Door" by Evans Light
"The Sisters Who Gave the Devil His Due" by Richard McGowan
"How to Get Ahead by Kissing Frogs" by Richard McGowan
"The Awful Wages of Unbridled Lesbianism" by Richard McGowan
"Two Little Girls with Runaway Imaginations" by Richard McGowan
"The Little Princess Who Wanted Children" by Richard McGowan
"Taken" by Adam Light
"Way Out of Here" by Adam Light
"No Such Thing" by Edward Lorn
"The Mortician's Temptation" (Not yet published) by Sarah Roberts
"Gone"  by Adam Light
"Serving Spirits" by Adam Light
"Vengence by the Foot" by Adam Light
"The Continuance Agency" by Adam Light
"Peeler" by Gord Rollo (FREE on Amazon!)
"Seeker" by Ade Grant
"Three Ghosts" by Ade Grant
"The Abortionist" by Ade Grant
"Sausages" by Ade Grant
"The Secret Junction" by Ade Grant
"The Couch" by Ade Grant
"The Outlaw Women" (Not yet published) by Amber Foxx
"Chuggie and the Fish Freaks of Farheath" by Brent Michael Kelley
"Literary Sweets" by Edward Lorn
"A Friendly Reminder" by Edward Lorn
"The Monitor" by Edward Lorn
"The Southbound Triple-Six" by Edward Lorn
"Up on the Rooftop" by Edward Lorn
"A Purchase of Titanic Proportions" by Edward Lorn
"The Land of Her" by Edward Lorn
"What the Dark Brings" by Edward Lorn
"That Thing about a Picture and a Thousand Words" by Edward Lorn
"Smitten" by Edward Lorn
"Machinations" by Edward Lorn
"He Who Laughs Last" by Edward Lorn
"The Attraction" by Edward Lorn
"He's Got Issues" by Edward Lorn
"Sissy" by Edward Lorn
"Holes" by Edward Lorn
"The Kissing Booth" by Edward Lorn
"Come to Jesus Meeting" by Edward Lorn
"An Affair to Remember" by Edward Lorn
"Snuggles" by Edward Lorn
"World's Greatest Dad" by Edward Lorn (FREE at Goodreads)
"Offline" by Kealan Patrick Burke
"Tomorrow" (Not yet published) by Sarah Roberts
"Microchip Murder" by Martyn V. Halm (FREE on Amazon!)
"To Read or Not to Read" by Vincent Hobbes (FREE on Amazon!)
"Bobo" by Richard Schiver (FREE on Amazon!)
"Music of the Gods" by Richard Schiver (FREE on Amazon!)
"Wicked Smart Carnie" by Mark Matthews (FREE on Amazon!)
"Zombie Dash" by Mark Matthews (FREE on Amazon!)
"The Damage Done" by Mark Matthews (FREE on Amazon!)
"Concrete Gods" by Harry Shannon and Kealan Patrick Burke
"Faces in Revolving Souls" by Caitlin R. Kiernan (FREE at Lightspeed Magazine)
"When We Were Heroes" by Daniel Abraham (FREE at Tor.com)
"In the House of the Worm" by George R.R. Martin

Story titles appearing in 'bold' above are the standouts.

The Damage Done by Mark Matthews

I saw where this one was going. But I don't know if I could say it was predictable, because it went where I wanted it to go and where I would have went with it.

I like stories about drug addicts and addiction. This story had a healthy amount of griminess, too, which I'm fond of.

You can grab this sucker free from Amazon, if you'd like.

Zombie Dash by Mark Matthews

First off, I'm not a zombie guy. I picked this one up because it was free, and I wanted to see if the author would avoid the most obvious thing in the world he could possibly do: include real zombies in an event featuring fake zombies. Sadly, he went down the obvious path, and this was a rather large strike against this piece for me.

The story had a cluster of glaring problems that a proofreader could have fixed. 'Feel' is used when 'fell' is meant. People 'flayed' instead of 'flailed.' That sort of thing. Now this wasn't a consistent problem throughout (not that I noticed, anyway). It kind of seemed like there was a chunk of errors when things really started getting scary. Maybe the proofreader had to look away?

The storytelling on display here isn't bad and the typos aren't of the 'so maddening that you need to pull out your hair' variety. So, I certainly wouldn't try to dissuade zombie guys and gals from reading this. Not that I could, anyway.

Here you go zombie people, click here for the free download on Amazon.

Wicked Smart Carnie by Mark Matthews

I'm partial to stories about carnivals and carnies and creepy sex and cribs filled with...

You're just going to have to read this one.

You can grab the Kindle Edition free from Amazon.

Music of the Gods by Richard Schiver

I enjoyed this more than I did Schiver's Bobo (reviewed here). This one was much freer with the concrete details and had a much clearer narrative through line. However, its overall impact was marred by some unrealistic dialogue, a storytelling cheat, and a predictable and cliched ending. Many of these sins could have been forgiven had the otherworldly aspects been more inventive, more intriguing.

Like Bobo, this looks to be permafree on Amazon.

Download a FREE copy of this short story!

Bobo by Richard Schiver

I liked all the elements that made up this story, but I didn't much care for the execution. I understand that the protagonist was mentally unstable and that maybe the author was trying to emulate that with the storytelling techniques employed, but it didn't work for me. Following this story was as tricky as building a sandcastle on top of a giant block of Jello after both hands have been bitten off by a shark. (Okay, that bit about the shark is an exaggeration.)

But this is one that folks will likely be divided on. And it looks like Bobo might be permafree on the old Amazon. So, you can grab it and give it a go, if you're one to gobble up stories about creepy clowns no matter what.

Download a FREE copy of this short story!