Release Day! - Blue Sludge Blues & Other Abominations by Shannon Lawrence

Last month I featured Shannon Lawrence's bookcover, Blue Sludge Blues & Other Abominations and guess what folks? It's out today. Woot!

Blue Sludge Blues & Other Abominations
by Shannon Lawrence

Release Date: March 15, 2018

Horror short story collection

A collection of frights, from the psychological to the monstrous. These tales are a reminder of how much we have to fear: A creature lurking in the blue, sludgy depths of a rest area toilet; a friendly neighbor with a dark secret hidden in his basement; a woman with nothing more to lose hellbent on vengeance; a hike gone terribly wrong for three friends; a man cursed to clean up the bodies left behind by an inhuman force. These and other stories prowl the pages of this short story collection.

Blue Sludge Blues & Other Abominations Excerpt

From Cravings:

"Face pale, she clutched her belly. Ted watched it ripple from the inside, like a large fish moving beneath the surface of a pond.

The baby is hungry.

This thought sent a chill up his spine."

Buy the Book

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Canada | Amazon Australia | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Also available from Apple and other countries through Amazon

About the Author

A fan of all things fantastical and frightening, Shannon Lawrence writes mostly fantasy and horror. Her stories can be found in magazines and anthologies, including Space and Time Magazine, Dark Moon Digest, and Ember: A Journal of Luminous Things. When she's not writing, she's hiking the wilds of Colorado and photographing her magnificent surroundings, where, coincidentally, there's always a place to hide a body or birth a monster.

Social Media Links

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon Author Page | 

Smashwords Author Page

Giveaway!

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Congratulations, Shannon!

Now for all of the readers who love horror stories,  go out and get the book! Buy it, read it, review it and tell your friends!

Mina Burrows

Book Release: Dragon of the Stars By Alex J. Cavanaugh

Hang on, sci-fi fans. The blogosphere may get a bit rocky! I am interrupting this regular scheduled A-Z craze to bring you something truly amazing! Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Ninja Captain, A-Z Co-Host and Amazon best-selling author has officially launched his latest novel, Dragon of the Stars.

Get ready because the internet has already started breaking! And we didn't need Kim K's naked body to do it either. Instead, we have out own sensation, Alex J. Cavanaugh.

Dragon of the Stars By Alex J. Cavanaugh

Science Fiction – Space Opera/Adventure/Military
Print ISBN 9781939844064 EBook ISBN 9781939844057
http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/ http://whatarethekargrandes.com/

The ship of legends…

The future is set for Lt. Commander Aden Pendar, poised to secure his own command and marriage to the queen’s daughter. But when the Alliance declares war on their world, Aden finds his plans in disarray and told he won’t make captain. One chance remains–the Dragon. Lost many years prior, the legendary ship’s unique weapon is Hyrath’s only hope. Can Aden find the Dragon, save his people, and prove he’s capable of commanding his own ship?

Where to Purchase:

Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Kobo
Chapters
Amazon UK
Goodreads
iTunes
Amazon print
Overdrive -

But wait...there's more! 

Visit, http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/ to participate in the SCAVENGER HUNT! You could win an autographed copy of Dragon of the Stars, tons of bookmarks & postcards, and a $20.00 iTunes gift card. Visit Alex for a list of the participants. (Open through April 11 – winner announced April 13 at Alex’s blog.)

Go Alex! Everybody, go get your copy of Dragon of the Stars today!


Mina Burrows

Book Release: The Headhunters Race by Kimberly Afe

It's release day for Kimberly Afe's The Headhunters Race! Wahoo. Talk about a wicked cool debut novel too. Just check out the book summary below:

Book Summary

Sixteen-year-old Avene was sentenced to prison at thirteen for a crime she didn't commit. Now she has a chance to win her freedom back – if she enters the Headhunters Race. Second prize isn't so bad either, an upgrade to the Leisure Prison if you make it to the finish line. To win either prize, Avene and the other prisoners must navigate one hundred and fifty miles of dense forest, desert, and worst of all, cannibal territory.

With a mechanical collar timed to strangle the prisoners if they're not back in nine days, Avene allies herself with seventeen-year-old McCoy, another prisoner that insists on helping her at every turn and a boy she's trying hard not to fall for. Together they battle nature, other prisoners, and the timed death collars to win the coveted prize. But when Avene is tested with one deadly conflict after another, she realizes there is more at stake than winning her freedom – first she has to survive.

Find it on Amazon here.

Excerpt from The Headhunters Race 

(This excerpt is from the day the race starts and Avene is getting ready.)

Hours later, when the birds start chirping, I know it's almost time to wake up. I get out of bed and change into my special clothes. The ones I've been saving for this day: a sturdy pair of jeans and a man's blue flannel shirt. Underneath I wear my white fitted tee-shirt, depicting a crudely drawn skull. I added the crossbones bearing a set of daggers with a nearly dried-up marker I found a year ago. It represents my mantra for the race: stay away from me or I'll kill you.

I tie my sheath around my thigh, re-lace my boots with longer and sturdier cord I found on a pair of men's boots in the goodie two shoes clothing pile, and then gulp down several handfuls of water. I wipe the droplets from my mouth while I pace like a caged panther. A few minutes later I slug down another five handfuls before I remember to fill my water bottle.

Zita leans up on her elbow. "You're sure you want to do this?"

"I have to, Zita. It's our only way out. The only way we'll be free."

She throws off her cover and leaps to her feet. "Well, we better do something with that hair. They'll start calling the prisoners out soon."

Zita snatches our slop container from the table. She fills it with dirt from the corner and mixes in a bit of water. "I'm not sure how well this will work," she says, stirring it with her finger. "Sit."

I sit on the ground cross-legged at her feet. She kneels beside me, takes a small lock of hair, and rubs mud all through the strands. The stringy tresses stick together, cold and wet against my cheek. After one side of my head is finished, she steps back and surveys her work. "Nope, this isn't working. Your roots are still too light."

"Why don't you wash her whole head in it?" says McCoy.

I stiffen. Leave it to him to think of dunking my whole head in mud.

"You're a genius!" says Zita. She grabs my arm and pulls me to my feet. "Help me," she says to McCoy and I cringe at the thought of him touching my head when I'm a direct competitor. He might send his ninja blade across my neck.

He grabs the sink, half full of water, water I need to drink, and dumps three quarters of it into the corner. "Hey, I need to drink that!" I say.

"You can drink ours," says McCoy.

Right. I'm not going to drink theirs. He'd love that. Especially now that he's going to have to hunt on his own and the only way he knows how is by poaching off me.

Zita stops short of pouring in handfuls of dirt. Instead she goes to the fire pit and scoops out gobs of ash. She swishes it around with her fingers, stares at it like she's not satisfied, and goes ahead and dumps in a handful of dirt anyway. "Okay, bend over, girl."

I lean over the sink while Zita pours the murky mixture over my hair and massages it in. It's gritty and gross.

"Hand me that old shirt in the corner," says Zita.

I'm looking upside down at McCoy while he retrieves the old shirt she uses as her dust rag. She wrings out my hair and then places the shirt over top and squeezes out the excess water. "I wish I had a comb," she says, flipping my head up and steering my behind back to the ground.

"It's okay, I can use my fingers," I say.

McCoy dashes into their room. "Boom has one, hold on."

I lean my head back in defeat. He's determined to help me, to make me feel obligated to help him in return, but his niceties aren't going to work on me.


Want to win a copy?
Kimberly has put together a wicked giveaway.  Check out the amazing prizes and enter to win today!  

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Author Kimberly Afe

Kimberly is the mother of two awesome kids, wife of the nicest man in the world, and her dog's best friend. She works by day and writes middle grade and young adult science fiction and fantasy novels in her spare time. She lives with her family in the beautiful Sonoran Desert.

You can Kimberly online at the following places.

Website   Goodreads   Twitter   Facebook   Blog   

Love that excerpt!  The Headerhunters Race sounds awesome, huh?  Be sure and get your copy today!

Mina B.