If you ever cast an uncomfortable glance over your shoulder when passing the silent snowy sentinels that stand looking at you as you pass on the icy sidewalk, if you've ever questioned what might really happen if the old silk hat placed on Frosty the Snowman's head was truly magic, then these two dark humour snowman tales by Mark Leslie are for you.
In a town besieged by shadowy, demonic forces, a father races against time to save his family.
Thirty-five-year old Landon Paddock has deserted his wife and daughter, abandoned his business, and secluded himself in his late parent’s southern Indiana ranch. But he’s barely lapsed into a drunken coma when a mysterious, winged stranger appears during a violent lightning storm, chasing him out into the maddening night with his estranged 15-year old daughter.
As layer after layer of reality is dissolved by a series of violent encounters, the only way to survive might be for Landon to band together with the family he destroyed to make one last stand against a sinister army of unthinkable magnitude.
Hope, family and redemption lay in the outcome.
Sean Mulcahy answered Uncle Sam's call. In the autumn of 1917, he left his home, his friends, and the girl he loved. On the killing fields of the Western Front, he vanished without a trace. Thirty years later his best friend Vince Sicario is a broken man. Split from his wife, run off the NYPD, his world swirls in the bottom of a bottle. Until Sean comes clawing at his door. Bleeding. Delirious. And looking not a single day older. Vince turns to the only person he trusts, his wife Maggie—the woman Sean left behind three decades earlier. Together they hit the streets of Hell's Kitchen, seeking answers to Sean's disappearance and mysterious return. But others are on the same trail, and something terrible is lurking in the dark alleys and dirty corners of the West Side. Wise guys are disappearing. Mutilated corpses are turning up. The cops are baffled and gangsters are running scared. Rumors abound of strange gatherings in the shadows, of ancient horrors reborn, of blood feasts and pagan rites rekindled. Some say the savior of the damned has come. Sean may be in terrible danger. Or the greatest danger of all—the Lucifer Messiah.
Dusan is on a feeding frenzy after twenty-five years of hibernation. As a soul eater, he cannot kiss without killing.
He crosses paths with Aine while being hunted by the Phoenician priest Gregori, and soon discovers Aine is also on the hit list. Falling for her fast, while trying to discover why she’s also marked for death, the ultimate soul eater’s Armageddon is about to happen.
Maury has the power to pull dreams into the waking world, giving the dreams corporeal form. These dream-people range from seemingly human figures, to monstrous beasts compelled by the most primal urges. Once exposed to the real world, the dreams evolve, adapting to their surroundings.
Maury is gathering dreams for display at Lucidity, the soon-to-open Museum of Dreams. From a boy named Kevin, he removes Mr. Freakshow, a nightmare feeding on the trauma of Kevin having recently witnessed his father's murder.
As Maury falls in love with a dream-woman named Joy, he realizes how wrong it is to enclose the dreams. During the Lucidity's Grand Opening, Mr. Freakshow escapes. To create a diversion, Mr. Freakshow frees the other dreams. The Nightmares, The Erotic Dreams, The Serenity Dreams--all of the dreams--invade the city.
Mr. Freakshow knows the rules that govern the dreams:
A dream-person achieves immortality by killing its dreamer.
If a dreamer dies for any other reason, the embodied dream disappears forever.
At first Maury seeks out Mr. Freakshow in order to stop him, only to realize there is only one way to accomplish this; he must find Kevin first, killing him before the nightmare has its way.
Kevin will do whatever it takes to be free of his nightmare, once and for all.
Maury will do whatever it takes to protect the love of his life.
Mr. Freakshow will do whatever it takes to realize his immortality.
Will Kevin survive his nightmare?
What would you do to save your daughter from herself?
Mark Heckle, a lawyer, is desperately concerned that his daughter Eva is in danger. When a peculiar accident happens near his daughter's home, he meets John Freid, who reeks of evil. Heckle sets out to discover who Freid is and what his hold over his daughter is, in a stunning suspenseful adventure which will have you gripped until you find out the truth behind the mystery.
IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE RELAXING…
Police Officer Jack Wardsley’s life ended the moment his partner died, stabbed to death by a deranged druggie. Now, years later, Jack is a changed man, with a head full of secrets driving him insane. His recent record of police brutality and a reputation for not following the rules has prompted his seniors to give him an ultimatum: take a few weeks off, relax, and find some way to let go of all the anger – or else find another job.
That’s why Jack is about to board The Spirit of Kirkpatrick, a cruise liner built for relaxation and fun. Pretty soon, however, Jack realises that a little R&R is the last thing he’s ever going to get aboard the cursed ship. There’s a virus onboard, making people insane and bleeding from the eyes. The whole ship is overrun with blood and death, and there is nowhere to escape.
Just when Jack thinks his number is up and his life is over, he wakes up. The day is exactly the same. In fact, everything is the same. Jack is forced to witness the viral outbreak again and again as it ravages the ship and its passengers over and over, day after day. Jack finds himself trapped in a repeating hell.
It won’t be long before Jack realises there are others onboard just like him – and that some of them know more than they’re letting on.
Seventeen year old Cassandra Wild thought living in the chaos of her mother’s home daycare and dealing with her developing feelings for Bryce, her new Martial Arts’ instructor, was a struggle, until the night her world turned upside down.
When an untested vaccine kills more than just a rampant flu virus, Cassie learns how to survive in a world where the dead walk and the living…run!
This is a young adult fictional story that includes some language, violence, and mild sexual situations. Recommended for ages sixteen and up.
Two young girls with a gift for telepathy are abducted off the streets of Atlanta by vicious human traffickers, and their only help may be Spencer Pelletier, a psychopath recently escaped from prison, in this latest gripping horror-thriller from Chad Huskins.
ROSES ARE RED, A Collection of Short Stories (Book 1 of the New Blood Trilogy)
A LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIP--Drunk, Allan ended an all-nighter of partying with a hit and run that escalates into First Degree murder.
A LUCKY HUMAN--Traveling the Universe aboard a space cruise ship may be the hottest trend, but a young man may be exchanging his life for this privilege.
CASH ONLY--This bounty hunter only cares about the paycheck.
THE SEER is a new dark fantasy novel by first time author, Alan Mathews. It is the first novel in a series, the second installment of which is set for release Christmas 2012. It tells the story of Dray, a young man forced to leave his home for fear of persecution. His ever darkening dreams and increasingly bizarre behavior elicit only hatred and suspicion from his people, especially when his strange malady starts to spill over into his waking hours. And so, with only death or exile to choose from, Dray flees, clinging to a last desperate belief that his visions might make him something more than just a madman. Lonely and embittered, he begins the long arduous journey to the city, hoping that the Temple might hold some long forgotten answer. But there he finds the Temple’s days are coming to an end and there are others in the city that take a more malevolent interest in his visions. All too quickly, Dray finds he has become an unwitting pawn in the battle between the Priests and the accursed Marai.
Alex's mum was tired and over-worked. Holding down a full-time job, keeping the house clean and looking after the children - the youngest of which was still a handful with his ADHD as they tried to get the medication right - she just wanted a break. Even if it were only for an afternoon - so she sent Alex to the shopping mall, with his younger brother who was throwing a tantrum because he wanted to go to the toy store to spend his pocket money. She never once thought Alex would lose his younger brother in the crowds.
And no one would have guessed how the day would have ended or just how many more children were missing.
'Smile' is a new horror from the best-selling author behind the 'Happy Ever After Trilogy' - told through the eyes of the main character as he frantically searches for his missing brother.
When a crooked lawyer burns a dead author’s books, their words come back to haunt him.
When Patrick Peto destroys the last will and testament of his uncle Rex Beaumont, he has no misgivings about ignoring an insignificant codicil leaving "all my books to Barbara". But when he illegally obtains possession of the Heartsease estate and consigns the author's stories to the flames, he awakens vengeful forces that are determined to set matters aright.
As Patrick imposes his own vision on Rex’s old house, the author's imaginary worlds invade Patrick's reality until he can no longer distinguish fact from fiction. He becomes a prisoner at Heartsease where Rex's fictional creations put him on trial for murder. He is sentenced to death, but after a plea for mercy from one of the characters, his sentence is reduced to ninety days and ninety nights, during which he must recreate every story he has destroyed.
Detective Daniel Fox has just met with a grizzly end. The dawn of his afterlife is where our story begins.
To redeem his soul and earn a place in Heaven, Daniel must first venture to the 9th Fortress: Lucifer’s primary prison in the heart of hell-fire. There the worst of the worst are contained, and Daniel’s mission is to save one particular soul from its dungeon.
To help him achieve that almighty feat, the detective was given a defender--a samurai warrior called Kat--the most dangerous man who ever lived and the only one qualified, and capable of leading this perilous expedition.
Together, the Kat and Fox encounter the unnatural and supernatural on their decent to the pit, and all of it trying to stop them...
Rescued from certain death, Sophie Hart finds herself drawn into the underground world of Patrick, a silent vampire who also happens to be the last of his kind.
In volume 1 of the Dark Season series, Sophie encounters Patrick for the first time. But while she finds herself drawn to him, she also meets a man who has been chronicling the vampires for many years, and who has a stark warning about getting too involved.
Dark Season is a series of novellas, each approximately 25,000 words. Each book is a complete standalone story, knowledge of the other books is not essential. This book contains some sexual situations.
Welcome to Grueber’s, the brand new all night supermarket chain with a difference. For its unfortunate customers, the ordinary looking store could be the last trip they ever make—for its shelves are stacked with horrific delicacies made from human flesh, and the store boasts a Meat aisle that has to be seen to be believed, the unlikely group of unwitting shoppers must come together to not only survive, but to try to find a way to escape from the store, and the inhuman Staff who are keen for them to stay… forever.
Do you dare open your eyes?
Far beneath the streets of Briar Hills lies an enormous temple of stone. Ancient secrets are buried within its walls…along with countless and unspeakable horrors. To look upon the things hidden there is to invite madness…but to journey forward blindly is to provoke death. Now the time draws near for the temple to fulfill its awesome purpose.
…and it all begins with a wooden box…
College student Albert Cross loves puzzles, so when a mysterious wooden box appears in the driver’s seat of his locked car with cryptic messages carved into it, it is no surprise that he quickly becomes obsessed. And when his lab partner, Brandy, unexpectedly turns up in possession of the box’s key, he finds himself with an opportunity to not only solve an exquisite mystery, but to do so with someone he very much wishes to impress.
But the secret of the box is far greater than either of them suspect. Soon, they uncover a map that leads them deep underground, into the city’s vast and complex subterranean system, where the miles upon miles of service tunnels and drainage pipes are long rumored to be haunted.
Here, far below the streets, Albert and Brandy discover an ancient and very deadly labyrinth, hidden for ages deep beneath the earth. Together, they discover strange statues populating the darkness, shadowy creatures prowling the endless passages, and dangerous chambers where their most primal urges are violently turned against them.
Their clothes lost in a moment of strange lust, they find themselves forced to navigate the unearthly stone corridors naked and vulnerable. Their only chance for survival lies within the odd assortment of objects found inside the box, from which Albert must somehow piece together a map.
The Fever struck hard and fast, rising out of the slums and claiming victim after victim. At first, reports trickled across the wire in small segments relegated to the final seconds of the broadcast news. Lost among stories of failing economies and political bickering, few noticed what proved to be the birth pangs of a monster. Within months, the disease dominated the news as thousands died and infection rates soared.
William Hill knew his chances of avoiding the virus sat squarely between slim and none. With experts predicting a global pandemic, his choices boiled down to not if, but where he would die. While the rest of the world built barricades and set up distribution points for food, he chose a simpler end. The island had been one of the last and best times with his father. He couldn’t think of a better place to spend his final days.
He wanted sun and sand, fresh fish on the grill and cool nights by the campfire. He wanted feel-good days filled with oldies on the radio, days when he could hoist the sails and run before the wind. He didn’t set out to make enemies, but he did. He didn’t plan on becoming humanity’s last hope for survival, or watching over an old woman and an eerie little boy either.
To William Hill, the island seemed as good a place as any to die.
He just didn’t realize how good.
The Fever exploded across the U.S. and the world. Hour by hour the news grew worse. The virus was spreading at a bewildering pace, killing so fast that estimates had to be constantly revised. Even worse, it appeared to be mutating to an even deadlier form.
Stranded on Portsmouth Island after the President instituted martial law, William Hill found himself fighting to survive even though he had come to the island to die. The old village offered shelter against the storms and the coming winter. The sea offered food. Life should have been simple.
It wasn’t. He hadn’t counted on the old woman, or the odd little boy she brought with her. He hadn’t expected to provide for nearly a dozen people.
He wasn’t prepared for the evil that came to the island. William Hill had never been afraid of the dark. He never had reason to.
He did now. Not only had the evil come.
It knew his name.
Day by day The Fever grew stronger, surging across boundaries in its relentless assault on humanity. The news pouring out across the airwaves turned more shocking by the hour. Hospitals had started closing their doors. The dead and dying littered the landscape.
The tiny group stranded on Portsmouth Island listened as the horror unfolded. They had no where to run, and no where to hide. The struggle to survive had taken on a new meaning. The Fever promised an eventual death. Something else had come to The Island though, something wicked and hungry.
As if life wasn’t complicated enough, a stranger arrived in an odd little boat and brought with him, both hope and fear. No one knew the man was sick. No one knew he had a fever.
To save him, William Hill would have to violate the travel ban. To save himself, he would have to face down an indescribable evil.
Renowned philanthropist and billionaire Paul Parnell had reached the pinnacle of monetary success, but not without cost. Had he put too much emphasis on work and spent too little time with his family?Determined to leave something far more valuable than money to his six children, Paul instructs his lawyers to create an unusual last will and testament. This unorthodox will, which stipulates that the lion's share of Paul's two billion dollar estate be given to the heirs who pass the test, was Paul's last hope of creating an enduring legacy by inspiring his children to give back to society and embrace a code of moral values.The six children-Rory, Frank, Dan, Monica, Carla and Ashley-have only one year to make a difference. But what a difference one year will make.Before these six very different siblings can complete the test, they'll be forced to face their personal demons and the incredibly evil influence that could claim one of their own.
It doesn’t happen often, but every now and then one small soul rises from the crowded depths of obscurity and causes the earth to wobble on its axis. This last happened in 2008 when an unemployed doorman, in a secondhand Goodwill suit, stepped onto the worldwide stage in Stockholm and accepted The Nobel Prize for Literature.
In this me-me twenty-first century, Thomas Soles may very well be the last American martyr. This self-described “simple man” writes a simple book that resuscitates the all-but-dead international labor movement. The response to his thoughts and perceptions are astounding. All around the globe, from pole to pole, from America to Zimbabwe, the marching footsteps of workers, young and old, tremor the earth. But not everyone is pleased. There’s a tight-knit, elitist clique that is absolutely livid over the thoughts and ideals that fill the pages of his book. And the moment Tom and his wife, Elaina, return home from Sweden, they realize just how angry this profit-hungry mob really is.
Mortified by the horrid scene that awaits them inside their New York tenement, the Soles’ have no choice but to flee their longtime home. Hoping to find anonymity, they bounce all over America in an RV. But they don’t find peace. Instead they become moving targets. Everywhere they go they're followed by a succession of life-threatening events.
In “The Wolf’s Moon,” author Patrick Jones creates a spellbinding tale of an ancient animal that haunts the foothill towns of Missouri’s Ozark Mountains. An unknown group of scientists has genetically engineered a Dire Wolf into the present day. Allegedly extinct, the ferocious beast preys upon the innocent people of Maple Hills.
To hunt and kill the beast, the town folk will have to rely on the tracking feats of Mark Lansdowne. He is a reluctant hero, still mourning the loss of his wife to illness. Relying on his rescue dogs and indefatigable hunting skills, Mark will set out on foot in search of the mysterious beast. Yet the hunter’s personal history and romantic entanglements will come back to haunt him during his search for the vicious animal.
Accompanying him on the hunt is his pal Warren Skruggs, who knew Mark when he was known as Michael Linden, a chapter of his history that he prefer be kept to the past. Adding to the intrigue are two beautiful, intelligent women who aid the hunter in his quest. Their looks and smarts would make the Bond Girls envious but Mark is still a grieving widower, unsure of how to move forward.
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