Halloween Quatrain I: A Horror Short Story

Levi is a cantankerous old man who hates Halloween. He decides this is the year to give the neighborhood a giant F U for what he perceives as slights against him.

The neighborhood children run across his precious lawn, littering all the way. One of the neighborhood children allows their dog to do their business on the lawn and doesn't clean up after them.

That's right, it's all about a lawn. Levi pours his entire life, every single season, into the lawn.

So back to Halloween. Levi decides to be a jerk and everyone else lets him know how they feel about it.

Levi hates Halloween.

Ride or Die: Devil's Highwaymen MC #2

Disclaimer: I did receive an ARC copy of this novel, but that doesn't influence anything. I would have bought it on release date anyway. I just wanted to be a part of spreading the word about the book upon release 😊

The second book centers around Dom, Casa, and Harlow. You might remember Harlow as the girl Dom took with him when they left the Bangers bash. Now, don't look at this and go "oh great, another book where three people form a sex triangle." It's not that kind of book. They're family and how they come to realize and form their family makes for a great story.

Dom and Harlow have a history. He loves her, she loves him, but it's more like the love you have for your best friend. Dom is in the closet because he doesn't think he'll be accepted by his brothers. He even fully admits that he's been using Harlow as a mask.

Harlow is from a middle class life, but realized that her family didn't want her as a person. They wanted a clone that they could brag about to their other middle class friends. Harlow decides to live her life the way she wants and Dom helped her find that freedom.

Casa is the resident artist with a penchant for sleeping around and not really being faithful to anything female. He sees it as death, when it really stems from not knowing any challenges in the female form.

Overall, the story picks up from where the first book left off- Jesse, now known as Shooter, has taken over leadership of the Devil's Highwaymen. Basically he discovered the prior leader, his "father," had been into some sketchy things and changed leadership (tcht, fine, he staged a coup).

After bringing Harlow home with him, Dom winds up having to go on the road. Harlow is used to this from their prior affair and goes about fixing her life, giving up what she had become with the Bangers. After scaring the hell out of the prospect sent to check on her, Casa comes to check on her after the club has gone on lockdown. Harlow initially thinks he's a prospect and treats him as such until he sets her straight.

As the story continues, the MC realizes they're about to go to war with an enemy that won't be fighting fair. Dom comes to grips with who he really is, while Casa and Harlow start to realize what they might have.

Not all is sunshine and sparkles though. Not everyone gets a happily ever after via ass play (read the book 😉). But that's all a story for another time.

The book is now live on Amazon, so go pick it up!

Teeth

This is a short story with a twist- the same story is written by multiple authors!

The forward explains that the challenge was issued to set a record for the most authors to co-write a story. Eleven authors answered the challenge without really knowing how or when things would end.

So what story emerged from the minds of Kala Godin, Stuart Conover, Jacki Wales, Nickolas Furr, H.R. Boldwood, Catrin Rutland, Martin Reaves, Roy C. Booth, Jo-Anne Russell, Wesley R. Irvin, and Cynthia Booth?

It was a dark and stormy night (cliched, but effective at grabbing one's attention) when the gauntlet is thrown down. Kill or be killed. Win and bring about the new ways or lose and suffer the consequences of the old ways remaining.

There can be only one and it certainly isn't that darn Chester.

The story is a snack sized tasty bit of terror that blends multiple minds together in a satisfying way.

Ride or Die: Devil's Highwaymen MC #1

Ride or Die is the first entry by Cee Cee Riley in her Devil's Highwaymen series.

The story centers around Jesse and Laney. Jesse is the son of the MC's president and Laney is the daughter of a club member. Their story is told via dual POV and time skips to highlight key parts in their life.

For Jesse, this starts with witnessing the death of his mother. For Laney, it starts with her walking in the door of the clubhouse, swearing at her father the whole time. Both have the same thing to overcome- mothers with sketchy pasts and fathers who don't seem to know how to act around them.

Jesse has embraced the MC life and Laney has embraced Jesse. There are ups and downs, but the straw that breaks the camel's back for these two is Jesse cheating. Jesse thinks Laney deserves better than him, but cheating is not exactly the way to go about telling someone you think they need to go free.

Part of the reason Jesse thinks Laney deserves better is he has to take a closer look at his life after his brother is killed on an errand. Jesse feels responsible for what happened and his father is more than willing to allow him to think this, with the reason why pretty obvious.

But things aren't always what they seem and things just need to be dealt with.

The newest entry will be released at the end of October, so now we sit back and wait to see where we go next.

Year's Best Body Horror: 2017 Anthology

We start this anthology with a word from Shane Ramirez regarding the overall topic of body horror. Comes complete with a top 10 of body horror movies!

Slobber- Shaun Avery starts us off with a guy hosting an entity that helps him stay fit, but for a price. Then again, even revenge comes with a price.

Eruption- Charlotte Baker gives a tiny tidbit about being sick.

Devil's Tears- Shadrick Beechem's Al has access to the most addictive substance. Too bad he gave the novice the expert dose.

An Angel Among Us- David Beers tests how far people are willing to go for their faith.

Human-Kings- Austin Biela proves we are our own worst enemies. We have no choice.

Wrigglers- Chantal Boudreau shows how nature finds nasty ways to do us in. And that you really should listen when someone says they aren't feeling well.

Little Monsters- Ed Burkley's futuristic look into botany comes complete with plant misunderstandings.

Tom's Thumbs- K.M. Campbell invests some time in a demon that wants to flay and play. The demon has to bide their time since nothing is going according to their plan.

Family Dinner- A. Collingwood makes the most of dealing with family. After all, we'll all be meeting them soon.

The Itch- Stuart Conover's take on modern medicine makes it really hard to trust those small town doctors and their ointments.

The Blind Assassin- Damien Donnelly's creation sees to the end of it's creator, just because they wanted to make a better mousetrap.

Flesh- James Dorr's experimenting.......snack time!

A Normal Son- Spinster Eskie displays the depths of a mother's love.

Gas Mask Baby- Santiago Eximeno documents a trip to hell to retrieve something precious.

Human Body- Balazs Farkas finds that all the answers we seek will drive us to madness.

Fresh Face- Tarquin Ford's ghastly horror show has a cooking segment.

Meet The Wife- Ken Goldman shows how far someone is willing to go for their beloved.

Madman Across The Water- James Harper's Gregory learns that karma comes complete with Christmas music.

Mantis- Kourtnea Hogan's tale shows why protection is always necessary. All kinds of protection!

Cicada- Carl R. Jennings starts off by letting us know he's not crazy. Sorry, but phantom itches and murder suggest otherwise.

Tetanus- Chris Vander Kaay gives an example that the greater good outweighs what's best for one entity.

Grub- Alexander Lloyd King gives a really good reason why you should probably skip dinner if your ex is a little out there.

My Love Burns With A Green Flame- Thomas Mavroudis pops in to warn about home improvement in homes where the neighbors warn you about the greenery.

The Face In The Mirror- Sean McCoy has a Dorian Gray experience, sans portrait.

Porphyria- John S. McFarland tale of friendship has an oddly happy ending.

Things- Rick McQuiston's tiny tidbit involves zombies and shovels.

The Flesh Gardener- Jeremy Megargee's tiny tidbit has an evil form of gardening.

Ear Wax- G.A. Miller's tiny tidbit entry has an interesting way to be kicked out of your own body.

The Face- Kurt Newton's Edwin has been spending way too much time with translations for his new pet.

Battleground- Drew Nicks shows the horrors of war aren't limited to the battleground.

Whizz-Bang Attack- Sergio "ente per ente" Palumbo's zombies appear as man made experiments.

The Always Watching Eye- Gary Power delights in the creative process necessary to bring a book to life......in a manner of speaking naturally......

Hot Flashes- Jenya Joy Preece has a tiny tidbit about literally melting.

The Implosion Of A Gastrocrat: An Experiment In Autophagy- Frank Roger documents self-cannibalism with a completely accurate take of what would happen in the aftermath.

No Strings- Josh Shiben's has a literal earworm.

Babel- Ian Steadman describes why what happened to the Vegas of space needs to remain in the Vegas of space.

A Pound Of Flesh- Edmund Stone's artwork is more realistic than expected.

Conditioned Apocalypse- Aric Sundquist gives a good idea of what will really happen if we're invaded.

Length- David Turton teaches us to be careful what we wish for because it could possibly take out our co-workers.

Natural Growth- M.B. Vujacic offers a new take on the dangers of augmentation.

Utter No Evil- Joseph Watson prompts us to always make sure we clean all festering wounds and make sure they don't start interacting with us.

Down Where Her Nightmares Dwell- Sheldon Woodbury wraps things up with a little note about why you shouldn't taunt people who look different than you.

And there you have it folks- an collection of the ways your body can betray you, you can betray it, others can manipulate it, and so on. So what have we learned today?

Cheers!

Weird Ales 3: Last Orders

Before you ask why I'm starting with three when the first two weren't covered, well that's because I didn't know about the series until an author I follow posted they had a story in this anthology series.

Now that we have that out of the way, the forward is a delightful mix of beer references and history tidbits about beer. Last call is given and lock ins are denied, so it's time to get under way!

The Last Hangover- Jonathan Butcher gives a glimpse of what happens when you decide to act like a complete twat because you're unhappy with the way life has been going and force that on others.

Uncle Bernie's Liquor Cabinet- James Newman talks about a special liquor cabinet with some interesting items. Don't know what was in it, but it sure had a kick.

The Queen's Head- Calum Chalmers tells us about Roger, his Oban, and the Grim Reaper.

Yeast Beast Bitter- EM Eastick shows a unique perspective on how new brews are created. Revenge is a dish best served in glass!

The Dunwich Cold One- Stuart Conover introduces us to Janet. Janet works at the local watering hole that just took on a local brew. It comes on tap with effects.

The Bitter Taste of Death- Christopher Mark Stokes teaches us not to mess with beer. Never know what's protecting it.

The Things You Remember- Shane Porteous has ghost beer. It literally has you seeing shit you weren't expecting. And over there is a dead hooker.

Tenebrae Dark- Josh Reynolds doesn't have shine. Doesn't have anyone sniffing around for distribution rights either.

Alcoholics Anonymous- Marc Kadushin's Greg is a tavern owner (minor detail) and bartender. The bigger issue is dealing with a pissed off angel.

The Master Brewer- Daniel Hall offers up the newest brew, but tradition ensures no one gets to see the process up close. Respect must be maintained after all.

Psychopomp and Ceremony- Gav Thorpe winds things up with a story about going too far to take care of your broken heart. We all have choices, but you need to make sure you fully understand the weight of your actions before you follow through.

So that's it, all the beer is gone, and it's time to go home! Take care and mind that first step. It's always a doozy.