This post was most recently updated on July 21st, 2022
This World of Love and Strife by Shawn Mackey
Publisher: D.X. Varos (March 15, 2022)
Category: Horror, Vampire Thriller, Dark Urban Fantasy, Paranormal
Tour dates: June 16-July 22
ISBN: 978-1955065238
Available in Print and ebook, 350 pages
Description This World of Love and Strife by Shawn Mackey
It is the duty of the Vanguard to protect the world from unseen demonic forces.
But what if the organization falls to corruption? Their reformation is up to Cato, a disgraced former member who discovers many of the elite using their powerful positions and martial skills for ill-gotten gains rather than fulfilling their true purpose: aiding mankind in a secret war against their eternal foe.
Aldous is a Vanguard who fell from grace after being stricken with vampirism by a mysterious figure known as the White Lady. His increasingly vile appetites are tolerated because his knowledge as an alchemist is vital in the Vanguard’s battle against the demons. When those desires lead to the abduction of the woman Cato loves, Cato wages a one-man war against Aldous and his werewolf henchman.
Praise This World of Love and Strife by Shawn Mackey
“While This World of Love and Strife will reach horror audiences, it also should be included in fantasy and thriller library collections as a strong example of the strengths that can emerge from a story that embraces different genres with powerful characters and scenarios that are unpredictable and engrossing.- D. Donovan, Midwest Book Review
“The thrills build and build and never let up. The characters feel like real people. Even the vampires and werewolf! Best of all was the protagonist. He starts as kind of an eccentric and a bit of a jerk, but by the end I couldn’t get enough of him. I highly recommend this book for people who don’t mind horror with a heaping dose of action.”- John Martin, Amazon
About Shawn Mackey
Living in New Jersey for all his life, Shawn Mackey has been writing since childhood. Though his favorite genre is horror, he has a deep appreciation for fantasy influenced by mythology and science fiction that questions the modern world and its future.
Giveaway This World of Love and Strife by Shawn Mackey
This giveaway is for 1 print or ebook copy. Print is open to the U.S. only. eBook is open worldwide. This giveaway ends on July 23, 2022 midnight, pacific time. Entries accepted via Rafflecopter only.
This post was most recently updated on November 25th, 2020
Feast: Other Horrifying Tales by David Vorhees
Publisher: Amazon (August 31, 2019)
Category: Horror, Mystery/Thriller, Supernatural
Tour dates: Oct-Nov, 2020
ISBN: 978-1670514585
Available in Print and ebook, 209 pages
Description Feast by David Vorhees
A collection of short stories that take place on different holidays over the course of the year. The collection opens with “A New Year, a New Day, a New Life.” Grant Curtis is arrested on New Year’s Day and charged with the murder of his wife Carla. In “Easter: The Resurrection,” a resurrected Kyle Gardner seeks vengeance on Pastor Brian.
“The Vengeance of Cassidy Clay” is a narrative poem that takes place on Halloween. The poem tells the story of a slave-hunter who haunts the woods long after his death and many more spine chilling tales.
Praise for Feast by David Vorhees
“Vorhees does a nice job of keeping a “theme” throughout (even as the stories change from tale to tale. This felt like one cohesive set of stories instead of a bunch of random ones thrown into a book.
The character building and storytelling were good and I thought that Vorhees was able to write short stories that felt realistic and new while also feeling “familiar”. What I mean by this is that they still feel like original stories but they don’t feel like brand new ideas. Just like some of the best horror films play on the same topics and plots – these stories benefit from good horror tropes.
If you’re a horror fan and a fan of horror short stories there’s bound to be something in this collection that’ll suit you. I enjoyed it from beginning to end and I’m glad that I had a chance to check it out.”-Brian’s Book Blog
“Most of the tales are deeply disturbing and be warned: you won’t be able to unsee them. This is a nod to the effectiveness of the author’s storytelling ability and gift for description.”-Kristine, Hall Ways Blog
“I thought each story was unique; I like the author’s writing style. I would recommend this to readers of dark fiction, if you like a little gore with your horror, and a realism that makes it stick with you after you are done. I could see giving this as a gift.”- Sarah, Quackzombie
“Mind-bending and wildly entertaining! I was hooked after the first story, and it just got better after that. The themed horror stories for each separate holiday was a new concept for me, making each story that much more riveting. The characters and scenes are well thought out and eerily relatable, which allows you to become immersed in the story. This collection of stories is a definite must read!”-Lyn Savage, Amazon
About David Vorhees
David Vorhees joined the U.S. Navy after graduating Lima Central Catholic. Following his military service, he attended the University of Northwestern Ohio for Automotive business. He worked various factory jobs and attended the University of Phoenix online for a degree in arts with a focus in journalism. He recently worked for the Wapakoneta Daily News as a reporter/photographer/paginator.
He is the father of five and grandfather of five. He has always been interested in the occult and the scarier side of life. He loves history and the supernatural and truly believes there is nothing better than a good story.
This giveaway is for1 print copy each for 2 winners and is open worldwide. This giveaway ends November 26, 2020,midnight pacific time. Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.
This post was most recently updated on May 14th, 2015
Publisher: White Whisker Books (April 20, 2015)
ISBN: 978-0-9863265-0-9
Category: Suspense/Thriller
Tour Date: March 16-April 30, 2015 Available in: Print & ebook, 176 Pages
In the college town of Isla Vista, California, small, odd things start happening. Science-geek Nicole notes the crows are leaving. Meg Burdigal can’t find her tabby cat, Schrand. Brian the postman feels uneasy at the rustlings, the shadows he’s seen at the edge of his vision on his delivery route in town. Now Nicole sees fewer and fewer homeless in the park. Using her knowledge of biology and forensics, Nicole searches for answers—but will anyone take the horror she finds seriously?
In this unusual thriller, ‘Watch the Shadows’, author Robin Winter explores where the ordinary slams against the extraordinary.
Praise for ‘Night Must Wait’:
“’Night Must Wait’ is a knockout. Robin Winter really delivers the goods with her twisting tale.”-Norb Vonnegut, author of The Trust
“The world Robin Winter takes us to in ‘Night Must Wait’ is not the fantasy of Dorothy and Toto, no longer in Kansas; it is the scary, all too-real Africa.”-Shelly Lowenkopf, author of The Fiction Writers’ Handbook
“Readers never know when they pick up a novel if the story will become so compelling that they are taken away to that magical place where one finds oneself inside the world of the book’s characters, conscious of little else. ‘Night Must Wait’ did this for me. I read, forgot that I existed.”– Gina Rose St John, Amazon Reviewer
“Robin’s way around a sentence is nothing short of gorgeous. The beauty of her prose only highlights the tragedies of war and betrayal. In an era when women were still relegated to wife or teacher, Robin’s characters want, and get, more in ways both shocking and violent. I might not want to go to war torn Africa, but I do want to go on more adventures with Robin.”– Kathleen O’Donnell, Amazon Reviewer
Praise for ‘Future Past’:
“Robin Winter’s ‘Future Past’ is an original, meticulously crafted science fiction tale that blends the fantasy of Pinocchio and the hero’s journey with elements of time travel, redemption, and a post apocalyptic world that brings readers to a satisfying, yet unexpected conclusion.”– Matthew J. Pallamary
“Truly imaginative, unique, and gripping — I really really liked it! Robin Winter has a gift for inventing a world we’d be interested in saving, characters we’d be enriched to meet, and ideas about the human condition we’d be wise to ponder.”– John Foran
“Winter shows the strength and versatility of her writer’s voice in ‘Future Past’. Published shortly after her debut novel Night Must Wait, in which the setting offers a strong sense of place as a separate character, the science fiction themes of ‘Future Past’ haunts the reader long after the book is finished. Her first person approach with Ash gives chilling insight into a man-made world with apocalyptic consequences. Winter’s prose is crisp and her pacing sharp, giving fans a science fiction a thrill that is worth the spooky ride.”– Gretel Russell
About Robin Winter:
Robin Winter first wrote and illustrated a manuscript on “Chickens and their Diseases” in second grade, continuing to both write and draw, ever since. Born in Nebraska, she’s lived in a variety of places: Nigeria, New Hampshire, upper New York state and now, California. She pursues a career in oil painting under the name of Robin Gowen, specializing in landscape. Her work can be viewed at Sullivan Goss Gallery in Santa Barbara or on-line at www.sullivangoss.com/Exhibits/RobinGowen2012.asp
Robin is married to a paleobotanist, who corrects the science in both her paintings and her stories. She’s published science fiction short stories, a dystopian science fiction novel, Future Past, and Night Must Wait, a historical novel about the Nigerian Civil War.
This post was most recently updated on April 27th, 2015
Publisher: Quad City Press (March 1, 2015)
ISBN:978-0-982444-487-0
Category: Psychological Thriller, Suspense
Tour Date: March 16-April 30, 2015 Available in: Print & ebook, 114 Pages
Hellfire & Damnation III by Connie Corcoran Wilson is another tour of the 9 Circles of Hell described in Dante’s Inferno. It picks up where the first two collections of short stories left off, using the same framing device of stories that explore the sins or crimes punished at each of the 9 Circles of Hell in Dante’s Inferno.
The first book was the winner of the Silver Feather Award (Illinois Women’s Press Association), and the Gold Medal E-Lit Award (Horror category) from the Jenkins group. Five-time Bram Stoker winner Gary Braunbeck said of Book II in the Hellfire & Damnation collection: ” Seriously, Connie: can’t you write just one stinker so the rest of us will feel a little bit better?” Braunbeck added, ” Her writing is stronger, streamlined, and often lyrical, despite the nastiness her words describe. This is another impressive collection of tales from a writer I could very well learn to hate if she gets much better.”
Hellfire & Damnation III is another tour of the crimes or sins punished at each of the Circles of Hell in Dante’s “Inferno.” Like the second book in the series by Connie Corcoran Wilson, there are images whether it is a cave where teenagers are trapped, the lair of a psychopathic minister manipulating a young man of limited intelligence into murder, or a rage-fueled airplane traveler unleashing his pent-up fury on a Flight Attendant.
The author adds a From the Author, an informative peek into the creative mind of the author and the genesis of these 9 Tales of Terror. As one reviewer said (of Hellfire & Damnation II), “Connie Corcoran Wilson has written a book of short stories that will not only keep you up late nights reading, but might also keep you up long after you have stopped reading.”
Praise for Hellfire and Damnation II by Connie Corcoran Wilson:
“This collection of 11 short stories in the horror genre is organized around Dante’s 9 circles of hell in the Inferno–limbo, lust, gluttony, greed, wrath, heresy, violence, political corruption, and treachery. The stories are by turns chilling and blood boiling. The two times I read one of these just before sleeping I deeply regretted it. NOT bedtime stories folks. Haunting and satisfying.”– Joystory
“I love scary books. Among the first adult books I ever read were Stephen King and Dean Koontz. However, these days I find it hard to find good scary books – ones that don’t make me feel like I’ve read this before…and then I was asked to read Hellfire & Damnation II. Corcoran takes us by the hand and leads us through the 9 Circles of Hell, whispering to us the tales of those we find there and the events that have lead them to this nightmarish place. From the first story set in Limbo, Cold Corpse Carnival (giving me yet another reason to not want to be buried!), to the final circle of The Treacherous and The Bureau the reader will be checking behind doors, under the bed and sleeping with the light on!”–Kylie Purdie, Little Black Marks
“‘Hellfire and Damnation II’ is the sequel to Connie Corcoran Wilson’s first book of short stories published in 2011. This book is another tour of Dante’s ‘Nine Circles of Hell’ from his Inferno. It features eleven original short stories: from the 132-year-old corpse of Norwegian immigrant Ole Monson seeking revenge against the living for the desecration of his final resting place in ‘Cold Corpse Carnival’ to the most intimate betrayal suffered between two brothers in ‘The Bureau’. Each story highlights its particular Circle in a novel way, but is partially based on fact as explained by the author at the end. I really enjoyed this book – it was suitably horrific for me. Each story is well-crafted and believable, and I found myself very satisfied with each story’s pacing. I give ‘Hellfire and Damnation II’ an A+! and I look forward to reading more books by Connie Corcoran Wilson in the very near future!”– Mareena McGirr, Emeraldfire’s Bookmark
“Connie pens “Hellfire & Damnation II” in a plot that will really leave the horror with you. The illustrations are just unbelievably good and will get you really thinking about what you just read. I was totally satisfied with the amount of detail within each “circle of hell” she writes about. Now I really need to find the first book in the series to catch up with. Highly recommended for all who love the thrill of horror.”-Susan, My Cozie Corner
About Connie Corcoran Wilson:
Award winning author, Connie Corcoran Wilson (MS + 30) graduated from the University of Iowa and Western Illinois University, with additional study at Northern Illinois, the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Chicago. She taught writing at six Iowa/Illinois colleges and has written for five newspapers and seven blogs, including Yahoo, which named her its 2008 Content Producer of the Year.
She is a member of ITW (International Thriller Writers), where she is a writer for their online newsletter, and a member of IWPA (Illinois Women’s Press Association, Chicago chapter), which awarded her its Silver Feather Award in 2012 and 2014, MWA (Midwest Writers Association), AWP (American Writing Program) and MWC (Midwest Writing Center), which named her its Writer of the Year in 2010. She has won numerous E-Lit awards, a NABE Pinnacle award, an ALMA (American Literary Merit Award), Lucky Cinda competition and two IWPA Silver Feather Awards (2012, 2014).
Connie’s third book in “The Color of Evil” series, ‘Khaki=Killer’ was just named a Page-turner of the Year 2014 by “Shelf Unbound” and Writer’s Digest magazine in its December/January 2014-2015 issue!
Her stories and interviews with writers like David Morrell, Joe Hill, Kurt Vonnegut, Frederik Pohl, William F. Nolan, Anne Perry, r. Barri Flowers, Valerie Plame, Allen Zadoff and Jon Land have appeared online and in numerous journals.
Connie Corcoran Wilson’s work has won prizes from “Whim’s Place Flash Fiction,” “Writer’s Digest” (Screenplay) and she has 25 published works. Connie reviewed film and books for the Quad City Times (Davenport, Iowa) for 12 years, wrote humor columns and conducted interviews for the (Moline, Illinois) Dispatch and maintains her own blog,www.WeeklyWilson.com, while also twittering (@Connie_C_Wilson), Connie Wilson Author.
Connie Corcoran Wilson was a presenter at the Spellbinders Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii over Labor Day (2012) and at Love Is Murder in Chicago (February, 2014) and will be a presenter at Writers for New Orleans December 19-21st. She has three ongoing series: THECOLOR OF EVIL, HELLFIRE & DAMNATION (short stories organized around the crimes or sins punished at each of the levels of Hell in Dante’s Inferno) andTHE CHRISTMAS CATS, which she writes for her granddaughters. (www.TheColorOfEvil.com; www.RedIsforRage.com; www.KhakiEqualsKiller.com; www.HellfireAndDamnationTheBook.com; www.TheXmasCats.com)
Connie lives in East Moline, Illinois with husband Craig and cat Lucy, and in Chicago, Illinois, where her son, Scott and daughter-in-law Jessica and their five-year-old twins Elise and Ava reside. Her daughter, Stacey, graduated from Belmont University in Nashville, and is currently a Southwest Airlines Flight Attendant.
This World of Love and Strife by Shawn Mackey
