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 The Red Dog by Don Meers. Don was born in Montebello California and is old enough to vote. While quite young, he pursued a career in commercial art, but fiction was and remains his primary creative love. To date, he has completed several novels and over one hundred short stories. Favorite authors include Robert Aickman, Vladimir Nabokov, Ray Bradbury, and E.T.A. Hoffmann. Don's interests embrace vintage trains and, to a greater extent, old horror films, as flicks are easier to collect.
"Your position is hopeless," said Mrs. Nott, the head of the bureau. "You admit you smoke cigarettes in bed. The articles of the Child's Safety Act specifically outline the new rules, Mrs. Marten." (continued)
Suicide Jim vs. the Karaoke Killer by Bryan Reilly. Bryan moved to Manhattan to push a 355 page novel about a doomed marriage being held together by two adorable kids. After wallpapering a studio apartment with rejection letters, he realized he wasn't married, had no kids and needed to write about what he knew. While he doesn't murder the tone deaf for butchering popular music or exhibiting high levels of pretension, he does appreciate good karaoke and folks who don't sneer at him for shopping at the Gap.
An ominous grin smoothed his sly advance. He waded through a tall shadow and showed his glistening teeth to the moon. This was the moment he enjoyed most; when his haunted appetite smelled satisfaction, the moment his body transformed. (continued)
A Cross to Bear by G. Allen Wilbanks. G. Allen has been a peace officer in Northern California for the past 13 years. He writes crime reports to pay the bills and horror fiction to stay sane. In the past few years his stories have appeared in magazines and e-zines such as Night Terrors, Black Petals, Alien Skin Magazine, Dark Moon Rising, Nocturne Horizons, Devil Blossoms, and others. He currently resides in Sacramento with his wife and two daughters.
Pastor David Aramis settled himself into his chair behind the battered oak desk in his tiny office. He glanced at his watch briefly and sighed with tired contentment. 11:24 PM. David smiled and closed his eyes, enjoying the brief reprieve from his daily duties. (continued)
Burning Leaves by Michael Hoyt. Michael is from Oklahoma and has been employed in everything from healthcare to aviation, whatever would take him, in order to help his wife finish her degree in Engineering Physics and an internship at NASA. Thanks to her, he’s now working toward his dream of becoming an author. The character of President Mbele is based on a real dictator of a tiny west African country. He’s a member of a small, and thankfully, shrinking group of world leaders who are Really Scary People.
"The people call him God. Not President, not Papa, not The Supreme Leader. Just God." Girbeau yelled over the noise of the propellers. "It's rumored that he's a cannibal." (continued)
MISSED IT IN THE LAST ISSUE?
Well here is another chance to read the Katherine Siebenaler Interview, author of "Sarah Smokes Marlboros," the most downloaded story in 2004!
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SPECIAL FEATURE:
THE CHRISTOPHER ALLEN REED INTERVIEW
Author of TRANSPARENT
Harvest of Bone by Dennis Sjolie. Dennis is an Associate Professor of English at the University of South Dakota, where he coordinates the English as a Second Language Program and teaches courses in Creative Writing. He also teaches Honors courses in Gothic Horror and Narratives of Little Bighorn. "Harvest of Bone" is a synthesis of these interests, combining the Gothic with a surrealistic/fantastic "aftermath" of Custer's defeat at Little Bighorn. His research interests include comparative studies of eastern and western concepts of horror.
Fingers of late afternoon sunlight stretch through the dust and press down the startled ghosts lingering near the freshly killed when War-In-Her-Breast and I journey into the coulee. (continued)
Song of the Winterwalker by James Steimle. "Song of the Winterwalker" blends a number of James' desperate loves. Because he lives in San Diego, cold weather is precious and beautiful to him. He aches for rainy days and prays for snow that never comes. He dives into the local library where he is employed, and finds Ray Bradbury's drizzly Ireland and smoky carnival nightmares, his winds and dark storms. H.P. Lovecraft creates odd shadows in the lonely aisles at night. Snuggling with old paper and print, he finds himself somehow at home.
The old Irishman pushed the tavern door in and fell to the floor. By the time the others closed the portal and dragged him to his feet, the blizzard outside had painted a white outline of his body on the ground and the shape didn't melt away all evening. (continued)
Everyone's an Artist by Mike Robinson. Mike has been writing and illustrating stories since age 7. Now 21, he is co-manager of Illusive Entertainment, a multimedia company that focuses on independent film production, graphic novels, and other mediums. He spends too much mental energy discussing philosophy in his head, or plotting the route of his next writing project. His first novel, "Vermin Street: Life in these Walls", a dark humor noir, is now available through any online bookseller, including Amazon.com. He lives in Los Angeles.
During the break-in, I fell and my leg screamed with pain. I'm not entirely sure what I did to it (thankfully it wasn't broken, as I could still maneuver), but during the climb through the gallery window I had somehow miscalculated in the dark. (continued)
A Town Full of Holes by Gabriel Beyers. Gabriel was born and raised in Bloomington, Indiana where he continues to live with his wife Brandy. He's a construction worker by profession, specifically, a concrete finisher. His hobbies include marine fish aquariums and writing (of course), which he hopes will someday become his profession.
Nobody liked to talk about it. The strain of trying to remember seemed to bring an instant weariness. There were nightmares for awhile. Fragmented images that vanished with the rising sun, leaving only a thin residue of alarm. (continued)
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