June sees us move the spotlight on to books filled with short stories – both single and multi-author. All the books featured this month fall into the horror genre, but cover a wide range of sub-genres. So, be brave, enjoy the terror, and perhaps discover some new talents.
Short Horror Stories: A Box Set by P.J. Blakey-Novis
18 short horror stories, 1 terrifying collection. A set including all of the short stories Embrace the Darkness, Tunnels, and The Artist in a single book.
Embrace the Darkness: Step into the mind of the unstable, where nightmares become reality and reality is not always what it seems. Embrace The Darkness is a collection of six terrifying tales, exploring the darker side of human nature and the blurred line between dreams and actuality.
Tunnels: From the author of Embrace the Darkness, Tunnels takes you on six terrifying journeys full of terror and suspense. Join a group of ghost-hunters, dare to visit the Monroe house on Halloween, peek inside the marble box, and feel the fear as you meet the creatures of the night.
The Artist: The nightmares continue in this third instalment of short horrors from P.J. Blakey-Novis. The Artist and Other Stories contains a terrifying mix of serial killers, sirens, ghosts, claustrophobia, supernatural powers, and revenge guaranteed to get your heart racing and set your nerves on edge. Buy here
Read an interview with P.J. Blakey-Novis here
Wakeful Children by S.P. Oldham
When you open the pages of Wakeful Children, you peer into the mind of a depraved killer who started out small; the panic-stricken thoughts of a recovering alcoholic, just trying to get to a group meeting; the anguished, silent prayers of a man whose only wish is to get a peaceful night’s sleep. You get a glimpse into the greediness of a collector of old, even ancient artifacts – just don’t ask how he came upon them; the idle thoughts of a girl, playing innocently in the grounds of her grandparent’s house, oblivious to what she really is; the calculating machinations of an apparently frail, beautiful woman who is not all she appears to be.
The thoughts and actions of all these beings and more, including entities too old to truly age, spirits too nebulous to name, make up eleven short, intriguing, unsettling stories by S P Oldham, every story fresh and original. Beautifully descriptive prose, sometimes shockingly brutal passages coupled with vividly imagined and clearly depicted storylines make Wakeful Children: A Collection of Horror and Supernatural Tales an intriguing, inventive debut for this author. Buy here
Read an interview with S.P. Oldham here
Read our review of Wakeful Children here
Fangtastic Tales of Werewolf Savagery by Toneye Eyenot
La Lluna Plena – the Full Moon – that beautiful and mysterious celestial body which stirs within us all those deep, dark emotions we do our best to subdue and control. For some of us, her influence runs deeper, much deeper. We all walk beneath her maddening rays, yet, while most may shrug off the notion that inside us all resides a beast – a savage wolf – there are those of us who embrace the monster within and ride that lunatic wave with abandon each time she casts her gaze upon us.
Some see it as a blessing, others…a curse. To be bitten, and fall prey to murderous urges beyond our control, or to have the good fortune to be born into the pack, or perhaps even to whisper words of spell in order to evoke the lycanthropic gift, there are more than a few ways to cast aside the human skin and let loose the wolf within. Those ways are explored throughout this collection of werewolf terrors.
Suspend disbelief, dear reader, because whether you care to admit it, or continue to live in ignorant bliss, we walk among you. We smell the blood as it courses through your veins and taste your fear on the breeze. We long to see the life drain from your quivering flesh as we gorge. Beware the Full Moon, as you are about to enter the world of the Werewolf. Buy here
Read an interview with Toneye Eyenot here
Read our review of Fangtastic Tales of Werewolf Savagery here
Under Rotting Sky by Matthew V. Brockmeyer
“Riveting. Your worst nightmares realized.”
–Scream Hard Reviews
Twenty unforgettable tales of transgression and horror by the award-winning author of KIND NEPENTHE.
In “Mine” a child hangs precariously between the isthmus of innocence and evil, shedding his humanity for the altar of a wolf pup.
A horrifying and ancient legend reveals itself with a shocking new twist in “A Dirty Winter Moon.”
“Have a Heart” teaches us that nature always prevails over the follies of man, sometimes in an extremely gruesome manner.
In “Rumpelstiltskin” the troll under the bridge is very real, and wants your children for unspeakable deeds.
In “The Gym Teacher” a boy’s obsession with serial killers leads him to discover the true nature of a monster.
These twenty stories traverse the outskirts of society to reveal the brutality of humanity in all its gory glory. Buy UK and US
Read our review of Under Rotting Sky here
19 Gates of Hell: A Horror Anthology
From the darkest places imaginable, both outside and inside the mind, comes 19 tales that will drag you into places you never dreamed of seeing, not even in your worst nightmares.
Come along as these tales open up 19 gates into hell and experience the supernatural, the darkness of night, and the unimaginable like never before. Authors such as Byron Craft, Matthew V. Brockmeyer, Rich Restucci and many more have come together to show you in. . .and they won’t let you leave until you’re crying out for mercy, begging to live to see one last sunset.
What are you waiting for? The gates are opening. Buy UK and US
Chaos Tales: Hell TV: Volume 2
Eternal damnation isn’t just about roasting over the flames. The damned live in Pandemonium, a sprawling metropolis of slums, skyscrapers and gated communities. The devious and evil forge new careers for themselves, rising through the ranks to positions of privilege and power—the misguided and unfortunate fight amongst themselves in the hope that tonight’s torment will be less than yesterday’s. Everyone works and, when they aren’t slaving, they watch television—thousands of channels covering every perversion and insanity. Fokst is the chief of the daytime schedule, one of the powerful. On the cusp of gaining access to the inner sanctums of depravity he must prove his worth, convince his boss that he is the best man for the job, prove that his shows are the best. Only thing is, he hates them all, never watches them if he can avoid it. With an audit in eight hours and a thousand shows to watch, Fokst knows today is going to be a long day in Hell. Chaos Tales II: Hell TV is another gut churning collection from Christopher Law. It really isn’t for children or the squeamish. Buy UK and US
Death, Infection, the Devil…and Jed by Howard Carlyle
Four different stories of horror, all with deadly outcomes. How would you handle a bullying co-worker? Brian did it perfectly!
What if a deadly virus left you as the last man standing… What would you do?
Would you make a deal with the devil to get everything you wanted… Martin had the chance and took it with horrific consequences.
How far would you go for your favorite dish of homemade soup… Jed went that one step further than normal. Buy here
100 Word Horrors Volume 2 compiled by Kevin J. Kennedy
A drabble is a short form of fiction that is exactly 100 words long (not including the title).
Kevin J. Kennedy has once again served up the best of the horror world to bring you an anthology that is packed with creepy tales.
Between these pages you will find over one hundred drabbles, written by a wealth of talented authors. From the best indie horror authors to Bram Stoker award winners and Amazon top sellers. We have monsters, mayhem and madness. Come join us. Buy UK and US
Read an interview with Kevin J. Kennedy here
Our spotlighted promotions for the coming months are listed below, so keep an eye out for those;
July – Audio Books
August – Books in a Series
September – Short Stories (under 10k words)
October – 31 Days of Horror
November – Fantasy Books
December – Children’s Books
Poetry flows effortlessly from my thoughts to the journey of my soul. In reality, the world is seldom as simple and things are harder to bear in darkness.
It’s a common thing. As we go through life, we discover that people and things are frequently not what they seem to be, and what we understand to be the truth of our own experience often turns out to be something quite different instead. Life is as full of illusions as it is of genuine experiences.
This is a collection of 16 poems covering a variety of subjects. These are personal musings and philosophies of my own, at times slightly comical at others a little dark and brooding. Ultimately these represent some of my experiences in the world to date. Buy 
A collection of poems. Serious subjects are covered in this collection.Through the darkness of depression comes the words that I write.Take a journey with me and maybe some of the words inside will strike a chord with you. Buy 
A Poetry collection based on our fight with various mental health issues. Hard hitting and raw this collection tries to show what it’s like living with an unseen illness. Suicide, abuse and self harm are touched upon in this book. Buy 
This book is a small collection of poems I wrote on various topics. Some may be on romance, some on women, while others on philosophy. I request the readers to consider that these are a few poems I have saved over the years. There are hundreds more that remain unpublished.
Come on a journey with me and let the pages of life turn softly before you. Rest a bit from life’s hardness and cozy under a hand-knitted blanket with me. Keep the tea hot, keep the fires stoked, and listen. Hear the lullaby of a soft piano soothe you into a calm you have forgotten existed. Add some chocolates and I will be there, if only as the voice in your mind, telling you my tales. You see, we all have challenges. We all have stories. This is mine. Buy 
Sally-Shakti Willow’s bold new collection Atha utilises collage technique to espouse a Utopian Poetics described as ‘a relationship of non-alienation between reader and writer’ in which one encounters one’s embodied and intersubjective self. In combining fragments from a rich array of sources such as yoga manuals with the 24 hour news cycle, Willow ensures that this enquiry fully integrates inner and outer worlds in lines like ‘hormone secretions stimulate freedom of movement.’ In her series of rituals for Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, this utopian tension is memorably chased by a ‘ghostword’ that ‘sembles’ and ‘dissembles’ as it ‘search [es] the words / for the root.’ The final section ‘Movement & Meditation’ opens with the question ‘how to metabolise this’, when ‘this’ feels like all the evils of the world rising to engulf us. That the answer must be ‘my voice’ puts Willow’s courageous and generous work firmly in the company of writers like Maggie O’Sullivan – to whom she pays tribute here – making Atha an accomplished and inspiring act of ‘edgewordering.’
Jovannah Bar is a regular visitor to Brighton. Like many, she feels at home in our vibrant seaside community. This talented young poet has had more than her share of life experiences. She has used poetry to put things into perspective, resulting in a unique collection of observations and recollections in verse. Invisible Voices editors have been moved by these poems, and their relatable subject matter. We hope that you too, will find joy in this work, and be as inspired by Miss Bar’s poems as we have been. This collection is being published as part of the Written Word programme offered by Invisible Voices of Brighton & Hove as part of Brighton Fringe Festival 2018. Buy 
Old Man Jack is a myth, a legend that school kids use to scare one another. He was once a man who kept his life private, until events unfolded that didn’t go in his favour.
The Meyerstown Psychiatric Hospital will now become notorious for the horrific events which took place there. For year, the hospital’s history has been shrouded in a cloak of secrecy, until now. For those who worked there, it was a case of ‘whatever happens in Meyerstown, stays in Meyerstown…or face the consequences!’
Sussex, 1867. A broken heart drives Yard Pilkin from his native London to a small fishing village on the Sussex Coast. The locals are wary of strangers and initially keep their distance. After Yard makes some unlikely friends, he discovers that every man, woman, and child in the village conspire to conceal a secret. Buy here 
From the author of Embrace the Darkness, Tunnels, and The Artist comes Four. Four friends spend a night away camping in the English countryside, each taking a turn to tell a horror story that will terrify the others. But the group soon discover that there is more to be afraid of than just some campfire tales, and that no one is as innocent as they seem. Buy 
The war on humanity has begun…
A sequel to Red. When you’re pushed over the edge, revenge is a dish best served in cold blood. Buy 
When Emersyn fled the big city for a quieter life in the Midwest, she left all her troubles behind – or so she thought. She quickly discovers her quaint new home has a past of its own. Ten years prior a young woman killed herself inside the front door. Since that fateful day, the locals avoided the house. Not one to believe in the supernatural, Emersyn, along with a new friend, take it upon themselves to conduct a seance for answers.
In the apocalyptic fallout of the burned world, the screecher is a massive beast evolved to kill and built for survival. One screecher abandons its home among the crushed remnants of a city and moves to explore the wider world. Unbeknownst to it, one of its surviving nephews decides to tag along.
Jake and Darius are seasoned homicide detectives that have seen their share of murders. But even they can’t get used to children as victims. During one investigation the meet, and become intertwined with Jessica, the mother of one of the killer’s victims. She reveals a rare gift that may help them catch the killer. Jake is sceptical but Darius puts his faith in her. But when the latest child victim is close to one of their own, they go into overdrive to find the killer. Will Jessica’s gift be what helps them learn the identity of the killer? And for Jessica – is it really a gift or is it a curse? Buy 
Dreams die in sheds in Suburban Hell, traded for garden decorations so the neighbours can see how well everyone conforms. Matthew was a popstar, once. His band went on and made it without him, so now every night he goes to the shed to jerk off over his keytar, the one Karen wants him to give up so that she can get higher-tier garden decorations. But too much semen could break his beloved instrument, so Matthew builds Sparky, a robot that takes his cum.
A gut-wrenching, stomach-churning journey into one man’s private hell – Essence Asunder is one brutal novella!
You’re eighteen. Bored. Dad’s away a lot. Days it’s business, but you’ve seen the lipstick stains. Mum’s home. Too much. Keeping the world gin market afloat on her own. There’s Ariel, the family maid. She’s cool. The one piece of this messed up world that makes sense. And then there’s Raph.
Bored at work?
Angelica committed murder/suicide to end her troubles. What came next was worse than her tortured life. In purgatory, she is stalked by the one she killed with no way out. Until one day, something beyond her control changes.
Flash Fiction Collection
Four different stories of horror, all with deadly outcomes. How would you handle a bullying co-worker? Brian did it perfectly! What if a dealy virus left you as the last man standing…What would you do? Would you make a deal with the devil to get everything you wanted…Martin had the chance and took it with horrific consequences. How far would you go for your favourite dish of homemade soup? Jed went that one step further than normal. Purchase 
In a small town in southern England, a chance encounter triggers a catastrophic series of events from which no one will emerge unchanged. When Sebastian Briggs meets Ella, she needs his help. The type of help required, however, is far from what he had expected, dragging him down a path of lust and violence. As a married father of three, Sebastian must fight between his loyalty to his family and the desire he feels for another woman, a woman full of secrets and with sinister intentions. What begins as a simple conversation between two strangers soon escalates beyond any expectations, tearing apart Sebastian’s home life, and leaving death in its wake. Purchase 
Affinity Bell, a lonely child whose only companion is the threadbare doll she’s christened Mr Moppet, roams the empty halls of Bell Manor attempting to escape the evil that pursues her. The Others, the horrifying creatures only she can see, attack young Affinity at every opportunity. But Mr Moppet will protect her, he’s told her so, and Mr Moppet knows magic.
Ex-Goddess. Queen of the Underworld. About to raise Hell.
Father Jack and his pontification of priests are on their travels to conduct an exorcism. Demons can lurk in every corner.
In 1882, Delilah, a tough and determined young woman, is released from prison after two years. Delilah and her sixteen-year-old friend, Sarah, head to San Luis to find out what’s left of her home. While on the trail, Sarah and Delilah get separated. Sarah is attacked and raped by two men, who take her captive. Delilah goes in search of Sarah, determined to save her and to make her captors pay. She trails them into the mining towns in the high country of the Colorado. Along the way, she has to battle wolves, bears and ruffians in pursuit of her friend. But it’s not all desperation; she also meets new and colorful characters, encounters Indians and learns to love again. Savor a sample of the true flavor of the Colorado frontier with Delilah. Purchase 
Red Cape Publishing 