Horror Mall has some wonderful new items in their Digital Download series. Check ‘em out.

Paul Kane’s ebook novella, a reprint of the 2008 Skullvine Press Trade Paperback edition is a fresh take on a very old story: RED, available as a digital download ebook. Click on the link and check out the free PDF sample of the first chapter in this book. You’ll find it below the ordering information.

Remember, if you are interested in this book, click the mouse on the book cover to order it from an online bookseller.

	RED Author: Kane, Paul Format: Digital eBook Formats: PDF, EPUB and MOBI for Kindle and Mobipocket Type: Novella Publisher: Skullvines Press Links: Shadow Writer: The Official Paul Kane Website.
Evil Takes on Many Forms This is something Rachael Daniels, a lowly careworker, is about to find out . . . personally. Because something is roaming the streets of the city where she lives, something with a taste for human blood: sweet, red blood. Something that can be anything it wants to be. Soon Rachael will learn that not even friendly faces can be trusted. And as she makes her way across that city at night on an errand of mercy, she discovers that this creature will definitely have none for her. A modern, urban reworking of a classic tale, RED puts the horror spin on an old favorite. If you dare to open these pages, you’ll find a terrifying trip into the unknown courtesy of British Fantasy Award Nominee Paul Kane, author of Touching the Flame, Signs of Life, The Lazarus Condition, Arrowhead and Dead Time (adapted by Steve “30 Days of Night” Niles as New Year’s Day for the Lionsgate/NBC television show Fear Itself, directed by Darren Lynn Bousman – SAW II-IV). Cover art by Dave McKean, designer/director of the Neil Gaiman’s MirrorMask, and illustrator for Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book.

Find Out More Information about Horror Mall eBook here.

Horror Mall has some wonderful new items in their Digital Download series. Check ‘em out.

Jerrod Balzer of Funky Werepig fame, has a new novella out now. You can pick up a trade paperback copy but why not try an e-book instead? Jerrod Balzer presents: Fear the Woods Book 1: How To Make A Vampire, available as a digital download ebook. Click on the link and check out the free PDF sample of the first chapter in this book. You’ll find it below the ordering information.

Remember, if you are interested in this book, click the mouse on the book cover to order it from an online bookseller.

	Fear the Woods Book 1: How To Make A Vampire Author: Balzer, Jerrod Format: Digital eBook Formats: PDF, EPUB and MOBI for Kindle and Mobipocket Type: Novella Publisher: Delirium Books Links: Jerrod Balzer: Yet another reason to Fear the Woods.
You’ll Learn to Fear the Woods As you walk through the forest surrounding Tapperville, you may get the feeling you’re being watched. It could be the escaped serial killer, who manipulates his victims with macabre creativity. It could also be the ghosts haunting a forgotten cemetery. It might even be one of the locals, drunk and armed as they seek vengeance for their horribly mutilated loved ones. It could be any of those things, and you’d be lucky if it was, but as you pass by each tree, be cautious. The branch that brushed your shoulders might grab you. It could wrap around you and pull you to pieces. A root could shoot from the ground and impale you. Worse yet, one of the vampires whose spirits dwell within the trees could bust from its shell of bark and chase you in its grotesque human form. Once a member of the Oak Clan has a thirst for you, it will stalk you each night until it has you in its wooden grasp. Book One: How to Make a Vampire: Black magic runs rampant in a barn, and the sadistic serial killer tries his hand at pizza delivery.

About Jerrod Balzer

Jerrod Balzer has a trade paperback edition of Fear the Woods Book 1: How To Make A Vampire. He has also published The William Winckler Digital Double Feature, another digital download e-book. He also contributed a story called “Wolf Plugs” to an anthology called Dark Jesters: An Anthology of Humorous Horror edited by Nick Cato and L. L. Soares.

Find Out More Information about Horror Mall eBook here.

Horror Mall has some wonderful new items in their Digital Download series. Check ‘em out.

Greg F. Gifune returns with another horrific novella called Kingdom of Shadows, available as a digital download ebook. Click on the link and check out the free PDF sample of the first chapter in this book. You’ll find it below the ordering information.

Remember, if you are interested in this book, click the mouse on the book cover to order it from an online bookseller.

	Kingdom of Shadows Author: Gifune, Greg F. Format: Digital eBook Formats: PDF, EPUB and MOBI for Kindle and Mobipocket Type: Novella Publisher: Delirium Books Links: The official website of Greg Gifune.
A band of desperate criminals…a seemingly deserted farmhouse guarded by the rotting remnants of scarecrows, the echoes of torture and depravity and the whispers of unholy nightmares . . . a dark night concealing terrible secrets, misery and long-suppressed horrors . . . One faraway, nearly forgotten night, this night, stands between the forsaken and deliverance, but they are not alone in the darkness. Something demonic dwells within…something luring them toward a separate kingdom…a kingdom of night . . . a kingdom of evil . . . A Kingdom Of Shadows . . . Fear the night.

About Greg F. Gifune

Greg F. Gifune is a former Editor-in-Chief of Thievin’ Kitty Publications and now an associate editor at Delirium Books along with being a full-time writer. His other works include: The trade paperback edition of Children of Chaos, Blood in Electric Blue, Deep Night, Dominion, Judas Goat, The Bleeding Season and the reprinted Saying Uncle.

Find Out More Information about Horror Mall eBook here.

First Joe Schreiber brings horror to the Star Wars Universe.

That should have been the end of it. But like the Sith, Death Troopers seems to creep up everywhere.

I knew Joe had a hit yesterday when I got Sunday’s copy of the Internet comic strip Unshelved in my e-mail box. In it, the teen librarian Dewey gives a book talk to a couple of teenagers about . . . yes, you got it: Death Troopers. It is a gem — you should check it out here: Dewey Does the Death Troopers Talk.

And if that isn’t enough, I have embedded the winning video of Del Ray’s Death Trooper Book Trailer Contest. The grand prize winner was 5ive by 5ive Studios. You can see it just there to the right. Click on that box and watch a really neat video — complete with sound.

Check it — if Dewey doesn’t make you want to read it, and 5ive by 5ive doesn’t make you crave it, then I’m afraid you have no future in the zombie empire I’m currently raising.

This weekend spotlights a couple of horror anthologies with no common theme between them other than some really good short horror stories. Okay, I’m wrong. There is a common theme. Both Inferno and Best Horror of the Year are edited by Ellen Datlow.

For over two decades, the last word in the best of collections in horror as well as fantasy has been The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror Series edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling for the majority of the run and later by Datlow, Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant. Today’s selection is the heir to one half the legacy of that award winning anthology series.

Ellen Datlow returns to collecting the annual best horror — without skipping a year — in the Best Horror of the Year. This anthology collects the best short horror stories published in the previous year.

Remember, if you are interested in this book, click the mouse on the book cover to order it from an online bookseller.

	Best Horror of the Year (Volume 1) Editor: Datlow, Ellen Format: Trade Paperback Type: Anthology Page Count: 350pp. Pub. Date: October 15, 2009 Publisher: Night Shade Books
An Air Force Loadmaster is menaced by strange sounds within his cargo; a man is asked to track down a childhood friend . . . who died years earlier; doomed pioneers forge a path westward as a young mother discovers her true nature; an alcoholic strikes a dangerous bargain with a gregarious stranger; urban explorers delve into a ruined book depository, finding more than they anticipated; residents of a rural Wisconsin town defend against a legendary monster; a woman wracked by survivor’s guilt is haunted by the ghosts of a tragic crash; a detective strives to solve the mystery of a dismembered girl; an orphan returns to a wicked witch’s candy house; a group of smugglers find themselves buried to the necks in sand; an unanticipated guest brings doom to a high-class party; a teacher attempts to lead his students to safety as the world comes to an end around them . . . What frightens us, what unnerves us? What causes that delicious shiver of fear to travel the lengths of our spines? It seems the answer changes every year. Every year the bar is raised; the screw is tightened. Ellen Datlow knows what scares us; the twenty-one stories and poems included in this anthology were chosen from magazines, webzines, anthologies, literary journals, and single author collections to represent the best horror of the year. Legendary editor Ellen Datlow (Poe: New Tales Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe), winner of multiple Hugo, Bram Stoker, and World Fantasy awards, joins Night Shade Books in presenting The Best Horror of the Year, Volume One. Table of Contents: Summation 2008 by Ellen Datlow Cargo by E. Michael Lewis If Angels Fight by Richard Bowes The Clay Party by Steve Duffy Penguins of the Apocalypse by William Browning Spencer Esmeralda by Glen Hirshberg The Hodag by Trent Hergenrader Very Low-Flying Aircraft by Nicholas Royle When the Gentlemen Go by Margaret Ronald The Lagerstatte by Laird Barron Harry and the Monkey by Euan Harvey Dress Circle by Miranda Siemienowicz The Rising River by Daniel Kaysen Sweeney Among the Straight Razors by JoSelle Vanderhooft Loup-garou by R. B. Russell Girl in Pieces by Graham Edwards It Washed Up by Joe R. Lansdale The Thirteenth Hell by Mike Allen The Goosle by Margo Lanagan Beach Head by Daniel LeMoal The Man From the Peak by Adam Golaski The Narrows by Simon Bestwick Honorable Mentions About the Authors

This weekend spotlights a couple of horror anthologies with no common theme between them other than some really good short horror stories.

Today’s selection is an anthology of short horror stories edited by Ellen Datlow who asked her friends for stories that would scare the reader. This is “an all-original, non-themed horror anthology.” And it is one of the most effective collection of horror stories I’ve ever read.

Remember, if you are interested in this book, click the mouse on the book cover to order it from an online bookseller.

	Inferno: New Tales of Terror and the Supernatural Editor: Datlow, Ellen Format: Trade Paperback Type: Anthology Page Count: 384pp. Pub. Date: March 31, 2009 Publisher: Tor Books
	Inferno: New Tales of Terror and the Supernatural Editor: Datlow, Ellen Format: Hardcover Type: Anthology Page Count: 384pp. Pub. Date: December 10, 2007 Publisher: Tor Books
As stated in her introduction to Inferno, Ellen Datlow asked her favorite authors for stories that would “provide the reader with a frisson of shock, or a moment of dread so powerful it might cause the reader outright physical discomfort; or a sensation of fear so palpable that the reader feels compelled to turn on the bright lights and play music or seek the company of others to dispel the fear.” Mission accomplished. Datlow has produced a collection filled with some of the most powerful voices in the field: Pat Cadigan, Terry Dowling, Jeffrey Ford, Christopher Fowler, Glen Hirshberg, K. W. Jeter, Joyce Carol Oates, and Lucius Shepard, to name a few. Each author approaches fear in a different way, but all of the stories’ characters toil within their own hell. An aptly titled anthology, Inferno will scare the pants off readers and further secure Ellen Datlow’s standing as a preeminent editor of modern horror. Table of Contents: Riding Bitch by K.W. Jeter Misadventure by Stephen Gallagher The Forest by Laird Barron The Monsters of Heaven by Nathan Ballingrud Inelastic Collisions by Elizabeth Bear The Uninvited by Christopher Fowler 13 O’clock by Mike O’Driscoll Lives by John Grant Ghorla by Mark Samuels Face by Joyce Carol Oates An Apiary of White Bees by Lee Thomas The Keeper by P. D. Cacek Bethany’s Wood by Paul Finch The Ease With Which We Freed The Beast by Lucius Shepard Hushabye by Simon Bestwick Perhaps the Last by Conrad Williams Stilled Life by Pat Cadigan The Janus Tree by Glen Hirshberg The Bedroom Light by Jeffrey Ford The Suits at Auderlene by Terry Dowling

“This book will do you harm beyond description unless you do as I’m asking you to.”

Jackabok Botch was a paltry member of the Demonation when he was shanghaied all the way up to Earth where, for centuries, he lived a low-key somewhat evil life until the time of the great invention — where for once and for all, he had to choose sides.

Remember, if you are interested in this book, click the mouse on the book cover to order it from an online bookseller.

TITLE:

MISTER B. GONE

WRITER:

by Clive Barker

GENRE:

Horror Book, Horror Novel, Humor, Fantasy,

DESCRIPTORS:

Demons, Angels, Celestial War, Inventions, Good vs Evil,

CHARACTERS

Jackabok Botch, A very weak demon who unexpectedly finds himself in the world of the humans.
Quitoon, A powerful aristocratic demon with fiery temper and a desire to witness inventions.
You, As the reader of this book you become part of the narrative.

SUMMARY:

Whe you begin reading this book, it talks to you in the words on the page. The book asks you to burn it, right now. It demands, pleads and begs with you to burn the book. It even offers to tell you a little bit about its life when it was a demon — a member of the Demonation — if you will just burn the book afterward.

The book tells more and more of the story of its existence as a very lesser demon named Jackabok Botch who was caught in a trap and brought up out of the lowest level of Hell only to be deposited on Earth at the mercy of humans looking to skin and sell him for profit.

He tells of his escape and meeting another powerful demon named Quitoon and how they spend centuries traveling over the known world visiting mankind’s inventions as they’re created.

This friendship works out well until the day comes that an invention comes into existence, so important that the angels and the demons go to war over it.

APPEAL:

Mister B. Gone is a small book. The cover looks like leather binding with a stylized image of a face stamped upon it. Right side up the face looks startled but turn the book upside down and the face looks dangerous.

Inside the paper is yellowed — painted to look old and frail, although in actually the paper is pretty stern. Things like the title page and copyright information, which would look modern to the read, haven been placed in the back — after the story.

As you read the story, the narrator implores you to put “him” out of his misery and burn the book. He tells you bits and pieces of his history to satisfy your curiosity so that you will burn the book. Finally he resorts to threats and scare tactics to force you to burn the book.

I discovered that I have no real future in book burning. Sorry Mister B.

The story of Jacabok Botch was very compelling and made for very quick reading. The book is written in the 2nd person present tense when he is trying to get you to burn the book but shifts into 1st person past tense when he reminisces about his life.

I expected a cliffhanger type ending and was ready to be disappointed by the work. However, Clive Barker did not take an easy way out — going for a cheap scare — he ended the story intelligently and in a way that could bring a change to you, the reader, in your opinion of Jacabok.

Or not.

NOTE:

Clive Barker handles demons and angels in this story with a sense of mythology that may not steele well with your personal beliefs. It may take the Bible as its starting point but the horror novel ranges far and wide of that. People sensitive about their religions may wish to avoid this story.

READALIKES:

The only book I’ve encountered that read like Mister B. Gone was Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge. Dark Harvest is also told in 2nd person present tense when the narrator is talking to the reader and then shifts into 3rd person past tense when he relates the events of that fateful night.

“… luck always runs out, whereas your wellspring of stupidity seems boundless.”

Courtney and her Uncle Aloysius take a vacation together through Eastern Europe where the young girl finds more trouble than if she’d stayed at home.

Remember, if you are interested in this book, click the mouse on the book cover to order it from an online bookseller.

TITLE:

COURTNEY CRUMRIN’S MONSTROUS HOLIDAY

WRITER:

by Ted Naifeh

ARTISTS:

by Ted Naifeh

SERIES:

Courtney Crumrin’s Monstrous Holiday Mini-series #1-2

PUBLISHER:

Oni Press

CHARACTERS:

Courtney Crumrin, A girl in middle school who discovers she could be a witch.
Uncle Aloysius Crumrin, A mysterious old man who turns out to be a lot more than he seems.
Professor Alexi Markovic, A learned holy man who lives near a settlement by the forest.
Magda Markovic, The professor’s daughter
Petru, A powerful man in the community who is attracted to Magda.
Jan, The werewolf smitten by Magda.
Wolfgang, The mysterious boy who attracts Courtney’s eye.
Wolfgang’s Mother, An acquaintance of Aloysius’.

GENRE:

Graphic Novel (collection), Horror, Dark Humor,

DESCRIPTORS:

Witches, Werewolves, Warlocks, Vampires, Faith, Curses, Teenage Kids, Magic, Relationships, Love, Revenge,

SUMMARY:

Courtney and her Uncle Aloysius are taking a vacation, to get away from it all. First they go to visit a man of faith and learning in Romania.

There Courtney, once again, gets caught up in a love triangle that has nothing to do with herself. The professor’s daughter Madga may be in love with the gypsy Jan who is a werewolf. Jan is smitten by her. Unfortunately Petru, who is the local lord, wants her for his wife and thanks to Madga’s father, he is betrothed to her.

Courtney once again interferes. She learns a lot about werewolves and the cowardice of the heart. Will she be able to stop an emanate slaughter or will the lovers betray her as well as their own hearts?

Then its off to Germany where Courtney goes sight-seeing while Uncle Aloysius attends to some other business.

While attending a tour of Castle Krumrhein, she meets an attractive, mysterious boy named Wolfgang. He meets up with her again and takes her to see his mother, but she has a guest — Courtney’s Aloysius — so they spy instead.

By the end of the story, Courtney finds herself drawn toward Wolfgang even against her Uncle’s wishes. Will this be the one thing that permanently damages their relationship?

APPEAL:

I enjoyed this collection. Courtney as a pre-teen curmudgeon was fun to read. Her relationship with her Uncle Aloysius is strained again to the breaking point and we find out more about his motivations.

Courtney and Uncle Aloysius are the most well-rounded characters but some of the supporting cast are getting better definition than in previous stories. Since the stories are about Courtney, she gets the most character development but Aloysius gets more development too. We often get Courtney’s take on life through her fairly uncensored mouth. However, what is really telling is her actions. Through this collection we see some character development that reflects real change from the Courtney of the last collection.

Both storylines are charming and intriguing. Courtney is a resourceful little girl although she doesn’t always succeed and still needs rescuing. She is inexperienced and resents that. She is also listening far too much to her heart this time and not enough to her uncle.

This mini-series is not narrated by the goblin Butterworth and it felt odd not see him at all. I missed his snarky comments.

NOTES:

This graphic novel combines both Courtney Crumrin And The Fire Thief’s Tale and Courtney Crumrin and the Prince of Nowhere.

“It used to be that death, maybe even a long or violent one, would be the worst thing you’d ever have to face.”

Horror author Michele Lee explores the tangled relationship between the living and the undead.

If you are interested in the chapbook or ebook, click the mouse on the book cover to order your copy from The Horror Mall.

TITLE:

ROT

WRITER:

by Michele Lee

GENRE:

Horror Fiction

DESCRIPTORS:

Horror Fiction Books, Relationships, Zombies, Love, Hate, Greed, Chapbook, eBook.

CHARACTERS

Dean, New security guard at the Silver Springs Care Community.
Amy, A new zombie who gets a job doing paperwork for Dean.
Patrick, A zombie and Amy’s friend.

SUMMARY:

Dean is a former merc, newly employed at Silver Springs Care Community. Most zombies retain their intelligence and personality — although not their civil rights as they’re merely property — when they are brought back from the dead. It’s Dean’s job to put down a zombie should it ever go rouge.

Amy was brought back by a husband who couldn’t let go but quickly realized he couldn’t stand being in the same room with her. So he paid to have her sent to Silver Springs. In an effort to make herself useful and stay off going rouge, she volunteers to do paperwork and help shape up Dean’s office. Then Amy brings her friend and fellow zombie, Patrick to work at the office.

Patrick pushes Amy into telling Dean about the abuse they both suffer at the hands of some of Silver Springs’ attendants. Angered, Dean enlists them to go through the files of all the staff and residents when they find something else . . . something not expected . . . something horrible.

Before he can properly begin investigating Amy disappears just like the others. Not put back to rest. Not gone rogue and put down, not escaped, not released into her husband’s custody . . . just disappeared. And for the uncomfortable love both men feel for her, Dean and Patrick risk everything to find her.

APPEAL:

I loved reading Rot and highly recommend it. It’s a zombie story that primarily explores the relationships between Dean and Patrick as well as Dean and Amy.

“She helps me stay sane, and I help her — you know.”

Michele Lee has a fully realized world where a small part of the populace can bring a loved one back from the dead for a price and return them to death, again for a price. A world where storage facilities will hold your unwanted zombie for a modest fee. It feels so real that I was heartened to hear that there may be more stories set in the world of Rot.

Amy, Patrick and Dean are fully realized characters. You really feel a loss when Amy turns up missing. And then that’s when the story turns towards the bonding of two very different men, uneasy with each other, but both needing to find out what happened to Amy.

It’s a powerfully moving story.

The chapbook has illustrations that the ebook doeen’t have. You can order both from the Horror Mall. The ebook can be downloaded in either PDF (Adobe Acrobat) format, MOBI (for Kindle and MobiPocket Readers) or as an EPUB (Another leading format).

NOTES:

You can catch up with Michele at her website: Michele Lee: Dark Fiction Author or her blog Michele Lee’s Blog or her book review website Booklove.

Find Out More Information about Horror Mall’s Darkside Digital Store here.

Edited to include a forgotten website URL.

Have you heard the expression “You’re nobody until somebody picks you to be Lens of the Day?” I’m sure that’s in the vernacular, somewhere.

Anyway, I’d like to thank Squidoo and Kimberly Dawn Wells for selecting my lens on Halloween Stories to be today’s Lens of the Day. I’d also like to thank anyone who suggested it for consideration.

If you’ve ever visited Squidoo for any length of time or made lenses yourself, you’ll know what a high honor this is.

You can read the glowing things Kimberly said about my lens on The Squidoo Lens of the Day Blog.

Check out my lens on Halloween Stories by clicking on this link.