A Monster Lives Among Us

In this age of Gothic storylines concerning vampires who meekly feed off animal blood and walk around freely in the daytime without any ill effects from the sun, and other creatures supposedly of the macabre realm that bear little-to-no similarity to what most of us expect of them, new author McCarty Griffin gives us a chilling rendition in her first full-length novel, Monster Story, that is sure to set you on the edge of your seat and make you fearful of ever being in the dark by yourself.

Christy McCauley inherits her grandmother's home, little more than a cabin with an outhouse, in her rural hometown in West Virginia. She reluctantly returns to this backwoods setting and falls in love all over again with the home she left behind when she made her move to the "big city" in order to begin her lifelong career. But this cabin nestled deep in the woods isn't all she discovers as a curse from the bayous of Louisiana finds its way north in the form of a respected judge who carries the "disease" in his body. Though this respectable figure of the Augusta County community commits suicide in order to put a stop to what he has become, the curse is too strong for even death to contain it and he rises from his grave to wreak havoc on the community he once served.

Finding herself in the very midst of the unforeseen and impossible circumstances that end in the slaughter of partying teenagers, out-of-season coon poachers and bear hunters foolishly intent upon collecting the reward for the capture of the violent creature ravaging this countryside, Christy and her best friend from the city must join forces with others who quickly learn the truth about these horrific deaths. After all, no one else could possibly believe the preposterous monster story they have to tell of being treed in the middle of the night not by a malevolent bear, but a werewolf so viciously savage even shotguns at point-blank range fail to halt its advance.

McCarty Griffin creates the perfect werewolf tale that brings the savagery of such a beast into play in a manner even Lon Chaney at his very best failed to deliver. When lupine-cursed Larry Talbot reverted to his human form each morning after the effects of the full moon wore off him he was remorseful and frightened over what he had become; not so with this hillbilly judge and pillar of the community turned into the most feral monster conceivable even in broad daylight. As a werewolf in the night he is brutal and slavering as he seeks out his prey to feed his insatiable hunger; as a man in the daytime he is ruthless and cunning, planning his next move in order to ensure none of those who hunt him succeed in ending this existence that has the entire county quaking in fear.

If ever you have wanted to see what a real life werewolf would be like, now is your chance. Monster Story by McCarty Griffin is the perfect tale of lycanthropy in action. Warning - Do not read this story alone at night, especially if you live deep in the woods by yourself.

Monster Story - you owe it to yourself to read it.

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Like a Moonrise: Erotic Tales of Shapeshifters by Circlet Press. $4.99 from Smashwords.com
Shapeshifting is a powerful metaphor for eroticism, and in Circlet Press's new ebook, Like a Moonrise, that metaphor is made central to these erotic fantasies. These six stories feature original shapeshifters with a coming of age theme.



DUPED! by Dee Dawning. $5.99 from Smashwords.com
Jamilla Turner is swept off her feet by suave, handsome Maximilian Randle III. After a whirlwind courtship, Jamilla becomes Mrs. Maximilian Randle. Four months later, Jamilla receives a call from Mrs. Maximilian Randle III, Max’s other wife. What would you do? Jamilla hires Letta Storm.


The Devouring by T. M. Wright. $2.99 from Smashwords.com
The entity is ancient. It has taken form before, in other places. This time the place is Buffalo. The form is that of a magnificent woman...created from the dreams of a child. The eternal hunger is immense. The entity must feed. Psychic detective Ryerson Biergarten is falling in love with a wonderful woman, but she will die if he can't stop...The Devouring.

My Handsome Vampire: Falling in Love by Vianka Van Bokkem. $6.99 from Smashwords.com
My name is Ruby Kennedy; I was 17 years old when I was killed by a vampire. I did not crossover and turned into a ghost. I met a handsome vampire named Ulysses Anderson who was willing to help me. Will I be able to crossover without Ulysses? Can the sorcerer help us make our love possible?

Found by Lori Devoti. $0.99 from Smashwords.com
Nancy Bonnelly killed her friends. She was driving the car when it wrecked, and she talked them into driving through the cursed canyon. Now two of them are dead, another is missing, and Nancy is injured and near death herself. She is all alone until Dorian Renault finds her and nurses her back to health. Except Dorian isn't what he seems. He's a vampire. Bonus Story: Lost, 1st in series.

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Dark Angel: Fallen - Kindle Edition - Kindle eBook (June 1, 2010) by Jacob M. Drake

Buy: $5.99

Forever Undead (Forever Darkness) - Kindle Edition - Kindle eBook (Mar. 14, 2010) by Jacob M. Drake

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Forever the Dark Grave (Forever Darkness) - Kindle Edition - Kindle eBook (Dec. 22, 2010) by Jacob M. Drake

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The Complete Book of B.A.B.E.S. - Kindle Edition - Kindle eBook (Feb. 28, 2010) by Jacob M. Drake

Buy: $5.95

Darkness in the Light (Forever Darkness) - Kindle Edition - Kindle eBook (Nov. 29, 2010) by Jacob M. Drake

Buy: $7.95

Pumpkin Jack Skull and Other Tales of Terror - Kindle Edition - Kindle eBook (Feb. 27, 2010) by Jacob M. Drake

Buy: $2.99

Superion (A Coming of Heroes) - Kindle Edition - Kindle eBook (Mar. 21, 2010) by Jacob M. Drake

Buy: $2.99

Parallels: Book One - Heroes Enjoined Series (Heroes Enjoined - The Many Worlds of the Solarian) - Kindle Edition - Kindle eBook (Feb. 20, 2010) by Jacob M. Drake

Buy: $5.95

XKALIBUR (Heroes Enjoined) - Kindle Edition - Kindle eBook (Feb. 25, 2010) by Jacob M. Drake

Buy: $4.95

Rebirth of the Gods: Book One - The Powers That Be - Kindle Edition - Kindle eBook (Mar. 12, 2010) by Jacob M. Drake

Buy: $7.95

New Life - Kindle Edition - Kindle eBook (Feb. 4, 2011) by Jackson Williams

Buy: $6.99

Meri XXXMas Cherry - Kindle Edition - Kindle eBook (Dec. 27, 2010) by Jackson Williams

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NecroTales - Kindle Edition - Kindle eBook (Jan. 1, 2011) by Jackson Williams

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Do You Ever Feel Invisible?

That's how aging widow Ivy Malone began feeling once her best friend of many years dies, leaving her more alone than she's felt since her husband passed away. Slowly this less-than-spry, but still too-curious retired librarian realizes how people seem to look right through her or past her without ever noticing that she's around at all. But when the young, vibrant woman who rented from her lately deceased best friend turns up dead with no clues to tell the local police what happened, why the girl died or who did it, Ivy Malone begins to realize her newly acquired invisibility might be on her side after all.


Quickly making friends with the detective assigned to investigate the death of this young woman who, it seems has been living under the name and social security number of a deceased girl about her own age, "aged-eye" Ivy Malone begins to ferret out the answers the slow-moving police department is too mired in red tape to discover for themselves. Her unorthodox methods of investigation take her across state lines and back and into a local cemetery where vandals have inexplicably been overturning the headstones. Is there a connection to the death of the impostor Ivy has grown to like so well and the disrupted graveyard or are the two incidences unrelated?

Although this story may begin at a slower pace than most mystery readers are used to, it quickly pulls the imagination in to enjoying every nuance of what it means to be an elderly widow no one seems to notice, until this overage amateur sleuth steps on one too many toes, causing her home to be vandalized with a crude drawing and threat left behind to warn her off. But which case is she being warned off from, the cemetery vandalism or the unsolved death of this girl living someone else's life?

That's the dilemma that pushes Ivy Malone on to solving the murder in spite of death threats from criminals and admonishments from police detectives to leave the detective work to the professionals. Invisible, by author Lorena McCourtney is a laugh-fest of a double-mystery you won't want to miss out on. It may be the most enjoyable book you've read since Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

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Otherwise by Jonathan M Barrett. $2.99 from Smashwords.com
A fractured love story that reflects on the nature of gender. William is departing New Zealand for WW1 when seconded to investigate the strange case of Francis Napier. Is Napier a man or a woman? The interrogation leads him into self-doubt that jeopardises his engagement and his career. In this novella of weaving historical fact, fiction and Greek myth, William sees how things could be otherwise.

Moonlight Falls by Vincent Zandri. $7.99 from Smashwords.com
What would you do if you couldn't remember, but you're convinced you murdered your illicit lover, who just happens to be the wife of your ex-boss - the Albany N.Y. Chief of Detectives? What would you do if you had a bullet fragment lodged in your brain causing blackouts and memory loss, and you knew any moment could be your last if the fragment shifted?


Foreshadowers: And the Seeker of Legends by Purpoz . $2.99 from Smashwords.com
Joanna Whitewolf is starting her junior year in college only to discover that she is not who she thinks she is. She discovers that she is a foreshadower who is destined to destroy the Underworld and to bring peace to the universe. Even though she is a late bloomer to her powers, she is just starting to learn how to use them. Joanna is given The Book of Legends by her grandfather. She is the...

The Beast That Was Max by gerard houarner. $2.99 from Smashwords.com
Max walks in two worlds; he resides in the borderland between the world of shadowy government conspiracy and the world of vengeful ghosts and evil gods, between living flesh and supernatural spirits – between life and death. For Max is the ultimate killer, an assassin powered by the Beast, an inner demon that enables him to kill – and to do it incredibly well. Includes Tree of Shadows - new!

Growing Up - And Living To Tell About It by Patrick Triplett. $1.50 from Smashwords.com
A humorous and nostalgic look back at growing up in the fifties and learning about life, religion, sex and other mysteries


Dark Warrior: To Tame a Wild Hawk by Lenora Porch. $1.99 from Smashwords.com
A supernatural force secretly rules the world. A man, behind a mask, is the human behind this power. Or is he human? Raised by the Lakota, Amanda Kane must seek out the Grandmothers when these mysteries lead to the man behind the mask. To fight him, she must turn to a man who has been raised by the Lakota and Cheyenne. A man who fights like a gunman--but who seeks a warrior's revenge.

Dark Angel: Fallen - Kindle Edition - Kindle eBook (June 1, 2010) by Jacob M. Drake

Buy: $5.99

Forever Undead (Forever Darkness) - Kindle Edition - Kindle eBook (Mar. 14, 2010) by Jacob M. Drake

Buy: $4.99

Forever the Dark Grave (Forever Darkness) - Kindle Edition - Kindle eBook (Dec. 22, 2010) by Jacob M. Drake

Buy: $4.99

The Complete Book of B.A.B.E.S. - Kindle Edition - Kindle eBook (Feb. 28, 2010) by Jacob M. Drake

Buy: $5.95

Darkness in the Light (Forever Darkness) - Kindle Edition - Kindle eBook (Nov. 29, 2010) by Jacob M. Drake

Buy: $7.95

Pumpkin Jack Skull and Other Tales of Terror - Kindle Edition - Kindle eBook (Feb. 27, 2010) by Jacob M. Drake

Buy: $2.99

Superion (A Coming of Heroes) - Kindle Edition - Kindle eBook (Mar. 21, 2010) by Jacob M. Drake

Buy: $2.99

Parallels: Book One - Heroes Enjoined Series (Heroes Enjoined - The Many Worlds of the Solarian) - Kindle Edition - Kindle eBook (Feb. 20, 2010) by Jacob M. Drake

Buy: $5.95

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XKALIBUR (Heroes Enjoined) - Kindle Edition - Kindle eBook (Feb. 25, 2010) by Jacob M. Drake

Buy: $4.95

Rebirth of the Gods: Book One - The Powers That Be - Kindle Edition - Kindle eBook (Mar. 12, 2010) by Jacob M. Drake

Buy: $7.95

New Life - Kindle Edition - Kindle eBook (Feb. 4, 2011) by Jackson Williams

Buy: $6.99

Meri XXXMas Cherry - Kindle Edition - Kindle eBook (Dec. 27, 2010) by Jackson Williams

Buy: $2.99

NecroTales - Kindle Edition - Kindle eBook (Jan. 1, 2011) by Jackson Williams

Buy: $2.99

Dragons of Starlight

Dragons of Starlight is a new fantasy/science fiction series written by author Bryan Davis. In his first offering for this blend of technology and magic, Starlighter, we are introduced to the main characters:

Jason Masters is a young man raised in a society wherein technology and swordsmanship go hand-in-hand. He is so adept in handling swords, in fact, that he is chosen to be the new bodyguard for the governor of his realm once Jason's older brother leaves on a mysterious quest, one which no one knows the truth about, because it involves locating the lost portal that allows people from this world, Darksphere, to cross over to the world of the dragons, Starlight. But Jason finds his new position embroils him in a covert game of espionage as the governor he is sworn to protect is murdered - and Jason is blamed for his death.

Fleeing for his life he finds his way into the dungeons under the governor's castle and locates a girl he grew up with, who was reported to have been killed by bears. He also befriends an aged man who claims to be able to lead them to the portal that traverses these worlds - and the old man is telling the truth.

As Jason and his comrades make the journey from one world to the other, on Starlight
 a girl named Koren is finding herself becoming more involved in the dragon politics of her society where the dragons are the masters and the humans, descendants from the Lost Ones, who were taken from Darksphere ages past, are slaves. Koren discovers within her self an ability to make ghostly images appear as she tells stories of the past. These images enchant the dragons who hear her tales, allowing her to escape in the hopes of finding the young man - Jason Masters - she saw in a vision. Though she does not know if this vision was real or imaginary, Koren believes and hopes that her quest to find Jason will result in freeing her people from enslavement to the dragons and return them to the world from whence they originated - Darksphere.

This imaginative action adventure, the first in the series, is fast-paced and action-packed. It will take you from one world to the other and back again as Jason and Koren and the others involved attempt to keep themselves from the politics of both dragons and humans in order to free the enslaved and restore both worlds to an order long lost.

Starlighter by Bryan Davis is a fun and exciting read for old and young alike. Place it on your reading list.

Weaver Of Darkness by Melissa L. Webb. $0.99 from Smashwords.com
When evil comes for the ones you love, who will you choose to be? Liss Taylor always suspected she was a little different than other people, between the nightmares of desolate wastelands and the tattoo of an arrow she was born with; but when one of Liss' friends dies at the teeth of a Raggedy Ann doll as a warning to her, she knows she is anything but normal.

The Minded Man by Robert Reid. $3.99 from Smashwords.com
Brothers Rob and E-roy live in a post-technological future world tended by robotic "Personals". Their lives revolve around sports and pleasure until some robot-hating "Selfie" farmers bring E-roy into their secret, subversive Plan. The brothers soon face life-changing events that open new possibilities for serious romance, and for personal tragedy. Can ambition and honesty win against machines?

Houses in Africa by Alma Alexander. $3.99 from Smashwords.com
When she was 10, Alma Alexander was taken from her quiet, safe corner of old Europe and deposited into an exotic new world. She writes about about her 20 years in Africa with the awe and wonder of the child that she was, and the eye for nuance and detail that makes her the great novelist and essayist that she became.

Midnight Theatre: Tales of Terror by Greg Chapman. $0.99 from Smashwords.com
What chills your blood? Vampires? Zombies? How about a tour of Hell? Do you dare to step inside the mind of a madman? This is a taste of some of the tales of terror by dark fiction author Greg Chapman.

An Occupation of Angels by Lavie Tidhar. $3.99 from Smashwords.com
After Archangels materialize over the bloodbaths of WWII, they take up residence in most of the world’s major cities. But what would happen if, more than quarter of a century later, something somehow managed to kill these supreme beings?



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Experiencing New Life

Most of us, male or female, work or plod our way through the life we were born with. Some of us virtually zip through life with a snappy, cheery attitude that allows us to see everything through the proverbial "rose colored glasses". Others see our lives as dreary, mundane, that which cruelly chains us to an existence we barely can tolerate, let alone cope with. For those people life ceases to be anything other than a necessity until we "shuffle off the mortal coil", leaving this world and all we hate about it behind. Still others look at the hand they have been dealt and cry out, "This is not what I was supposed to be and I refuse to accept it!" These are the people who strive, push, prod, and do everything they possibly can to change that which they began this life being, no matter what the cost may be to them personally. Their goal is worth whatever it costs them.

New Life is a book that deals with exactly this last view, the one which determines that the cruel hand of fate is not going to have the final word on how this life will be pursued, or even in what type of body - or gender - this life will continue on with. For Brooke McKellogg, born Robert "Bobby" McKellogg, the gender assigned at birth is seen as a gross mistake. Brooke knows she was supposed to be a girl and finally, at the age of twelve, confides this knowledge to her parents, telling them that she wants to change her body, her gender, her life, in order to be the girl she was always meant to be. Like most parents, the McKelloggs do not take well to this revelation, or at least Don McKellogg doesn't; his wife Amanda receives the news somewhat better. Eventually, even Bobby's father comes around to seeing his son's view and together these understanding and loving parents agree to let their youngest child, their second son, begin living as the girl she desires so strongly to be. Bobby becomes Brooke, still the youngest McKellogg child, but now the second daughter of this family that has to re-learn how to cope with the changes Brooke brings upon them.

Family life isn't the only change Brooke has to wade through, for life at school brings along an entirely new set of obstacles for this now thirteen year-old girl who is just learning what most girls her age already take for granted. Does she kiss this boy in her new school who greets her on her first day of school as she publicly displays herself as Brooke? When she begins dating boys, how far is she expected to go? How far dare she go before someone discovers this petite blonde with the constant smile is in reality still sporting all the plumbing she was born with as a male?

Brooke quickly learns that her new life brings with it many new and unique challenges, but with her family's support - at least most of them - and her new girlfriend who is willing to help her learn what being female is all about, she finds all problems can be overcome if she is willing to tackle them head-on and keep her eye fixed solely on the goal ahead - that being to show the world that even a person born in the wrong body with the wrong gender, can correct what fate has bollixed.

And then she changes it all up once more when she turns eighteen and undergoes the gender reassignment surgery which alters her physical form completely so that even under the closes scrutiny, no one who later meets her is able to tell this gorgeous, perky, cheery blonde packed in five feet-one inch of dynamite is anything other than the real girl she appears. Then the question becomes to Brooke, who, if anyone, does she reveal the truth to? Is there a moral requirement to tell-all to the man she meets and falls in love with? If she does, how will he take this shocking revelation?

In New Life, author Jackson Williams gives a thoroughly provocative account based upon true-to-life events of the girl you will meet and fall in love with in the pages of his book. Though Jackson Williams wrote this story as a fictionalized account, do not be deceived - the girl whose life he wrote about is all too real and her experiences wrought daily in many stages and modes of success or looming failure by hundreds of thousands if not millions in the world today.

Whether you agree with or despise the views set forth in this dramatic novel, there is no doubt that Jackson Williams has written a story that will bring tears to your eyes and laughter to your heart with his first full-length novel - New Life

"...and Remember that I Am a Man." by John Bushore. $4.99 from Smashwords.com
In 1800, twelve-year-old Moses Grandy is put on the auction block for the first time. Hired out yearly, he experiences the cruelty and inhumantity of slavery, forging his character and faith in God. In adulthood, his wife and children are sold away and he is twice swindled out of money he earns to buy his freedom. His life and struggles uncannily parallel those of the Biblical Moses.

"ESCAPE!" a bridge thriller by Carl Coppolino. $3.99 from Smashwords.com
ESCAPE! is a story of a bridge-playing convict who escapes from prison under dire circumstances to search for a treasure by following a series of bridge based clues. Along the way he finds companionship and exacts revenge upon his enemies.

"HER" and Other Extremes by Jack Turley. $6.99 from Smashwords.com
The reflexes have softened and diffused. The eyes no longer have it, at least not without reading glasses. That lean, taut, youthful body I misused so well has retired to Memory Lane. Look, I'm still a man, I still have these vital, lusty feelings. I want to reach out and touch and take and have. But when I reach out, there's nobody there.

"My Best Friend is Schizophrenic" by Tom Hodgins by Burl Barer. $1.00 from Smashwords.com
When Tom Hodgins' best friend is diagnosed with schizophrenia, he faces an important life decision -- does he stick by his pal, or walk away? He decides to stay with his friend through it all, and it's a decision he has never regretted. This little book is packed with humor,insights and information for anyone who has a friend or family member with schizophrenia. By Tom Hodgins (with Burl Barer)

"Two Scoops" Is Just Right by Alex Carrick. $7.99 from Smashwords.com
This book contains more than just stories about the family. Some entries are dappled impressions of modern life. Some are comedy bits, with the odd gem of a punch line. Others are lighter than air and rise up like whimsy. Others still have a slightly more serious intent, with surprising twists. These funny, short original stories first appeared on the website: www.alexcarrick.com.

"Where Were You?" by Bob Cornell. $15.99 from Smashwords.com
By taking a slightly different approach to the assassination of John F. Kennedy we have discovered serveral heretofore undisclosed facts. Facts that we would like to share with you in order that you digest them and reach your own conclusion. This event is nearly 50 years old and it still had a tremendous impact upon current political events.