Ronald Pinkly is having a bad day. Of course he knew his life was never going to end well, and he has apparently misplaced his watch. Being eaten, suffocated and shot wasn't going to help his mood much either...Patrick Noel is a prisoner at Cook Penitentiary, facing a life sentence for the murder of his wife and son, a crime he didn't commit. But Patrick is also keeping evil under lock and key in a prison of his own...his body. As Patrick tries to fight the monster within, he will discover that his curse may turn out to be the world's saving grace.Rot in a cell next to Patrick as he faces Death Without Parole in this new horrifying short story from Christopher Lee Cousino, the author of the superhero novel Homeless, the Zombie Hero series, and numerous short stories.

As the traffic lights changed to a pale cool blue, Cameron knew something was fundamentally wrong with the very fabric of the universe. He was no longer even sure who and what he was. When the true nature of the higher power controlling the lives of everyone is revealed, Cameron knows its not going to be a good day.Passion. Murder. Bloodlust.Among these nefarious stories, siblings strengthen their bond by plotting against their aggressor; an animal lover seeks revenge on devotees of the exotic skins trade; and a psychiatrist gets what's coming to him when he abuses the trust of a jaded client.These stories take readers straight to the scene of the crime, exploring just how and why people are driven over the edge--and driven to kill.The "Owned" Collection is approximately 14,000 words long. A couple of stories have a speculative element.Stories Include:1. Heart's Blood 2. Beloved Brother 3. My Chance Encounter4. Skins 5. Ms. Zeri ("Misery")6. Owned

Jorden has stumbled into a strange land of not-quite human inhabitants, his friend Taf at least human enough in all the ways that matter. Getting home means facing the witch-god Hura, if she exists at all, on the other side of Nowhere. But this is a world of many races run by the spiritual kaedith and financial sarisan, while he is friend to the lowest class species who struggle simply to survive.Jorden gritted his teeth as he surveyed the somewhat odd world he found himself within.Things had settled down somewhat for the Tasmanian youth. He now accepted that he had somehow stumbled into a land of both beauty and nightmare, and was now forced to live within its bounds until he could find someone to help him return home. It was a world of warped pseudo-physics, a mash of realities and fantasies littered with peoples who were slightly not what they should have been. Yet Jorden Miles had grown used to his aestri friend Taf: her claw-like nails, her angular teeth, and the eyes that belonged to a beast of the night. She was mostly human – pseudo-human in the ways that mattered – and she was a very dear friend. Even the huge landsdraw and the dirge weren't really that odd. Rats were rats and fish were fish, and sea-dragons were only God knew what. There were horses and cattle and sheep and pigs, and a few crystals and rocks made the world go round. Aside from the earthquakes and this stormy Time of Darkness thing, all was peachy. What was most important to Jorden Miles was that this was a world of men that was run by the female classes of the spiritual kaedith and the financial sarisan, and he was a friend of a lowest class aestri, a race that struggled simply to survive, seen as little more than vagrants if they were thought of at all. There was only one way out, and that was to face the witch-god Hura herself, and she lived somewhere on the other side of Nowhere if she even existed at all. Getting there meant crossing the darkened and creature-filled lands of an unknown world, lands that no man dared walk when the light departed. Jorden knew his chances of getting home, indeed even surviving at all, were very slim indeed.

It's refreshing to know that out there in the competitive and cut-throat world of dog agility there are still dogs who are willing to occasionally stop and smell the daisies. These are the memoirs of one of those dogs. (Warning: Contains dog humour and may not be suitable for humans.)Lesbian / Dark Fantasy / Short storyKonitah lost her true love. For punishment, because they were two women, she was changed into a beast and became a forest dweller. Her lover Marilla forced into a marriage with a man, because she had to make a choice between life and death.To revenge the love she lost, Konitah becomes the killer of men and hunts down everyone who dares to enter the woods.Word count approx.: 3100

Alice knew she wasn't anywhere near drunk enough to be sitting on the manicured lawn in a quaint little garden looking at a large white rabbit, especially one quite so well dressed. She had been at the wedding rehearsal, now left wondering if Brian had been spiking her drinks. Alice could only wonder what her therapist in Toronto was going to make out of this...Set in and around Newport Beach, Vampires of Orange County takes place over one week in Morgan’s life as she looks for answers. Is the ex-boyfriend she never really left behind responsible for her blackouts, her sun-sickness and even her sudden craving for very rare steak? Or is it instead the friend with benefits who may have turned her Chihuahua into a vicious killer?Newport Beach, California-based author, John Bankston is the author of over eighty nonfiction books for young adults. Vampires of Orange County, is his first novel for an adult audience. Vampires of Orange County subverts this popular sub-genre by offering a protagonist who is a humorous and independent young woman who isn't seeking rescue.Volume One Morgan is attacked by an intruder at the Newport Beach tanning club she manages. After blacking out, she awakens in a hospital and learns she killed her attacker. Fifteen-year-old Stephanie has always been the good girl, but now she’s dating a man who’s not only older, but also her sister Morgan’s ex-boyfriend. Meanwhile, Morgan –– a vegetarian since she was eight –– orders a very rare steak. Fifteen-year-old Stephanie has always been the good girl, but now she’s dating a man who’s not only older, but also her sister Morgan’s ex-boyfriend. Meanwhile, Morgan –– a vegetarian since she was eight –– orders a very rare steak.