Killers and Demons II: They Return Contest Winners

The Killers and Demons II Blog tour is officially over, and I'd like to thank all the hosts for their great work, and the readers who viewed and commented. It was great fun for me, and I hope everyone else enjoyed it as well. I also hope you'll join me here on my blog from the 24th-31st for more horror fun when I participate in Coffin Hop.

Okay, now on to the contest. I have popped over to Rafflecopter and randomly chosen the winners of the three ebooks. And they are:

Ash Krafton
Irina Dimitric
Julianne Snow

Congratulations ladies, I've sent you all an email with the Smashwords coupon code for your free books.

So I leave you now, with a little quote from the book...

“I told you. I've been watching.” She twirled, her arms outstretched. “Watching, watching, watching.”

The Killers and Demons II Blog Tour Begins Today

The week long blog tour for Killers and Demons II: They Return starts today, October 5th and runs until October 13th. I'm visiting some great blogs, and I have some wonderful guest posts, interviews, and book excerpts and spotlights lines up, so please stop by and enjoy. Plus there's a contest to win copies of the book.

Come one, come all, to a festival of murder and mayhem. 

We have killers, demons, witches and more, with bloody exploits galore.

Evil is back, with a greater appetite for death.

Sample what is offered, but be careful. 

What you nibble on may turn out to be somebody’s fingers…

Here are a list of the stops for my Killers and Demons II blog tour.

October 5:

The Cult of Me - Guest Post: Splatter and Gore vs. Psychological Horror

October 6:

The FlipSide of Julianne - Guest Post: Historic Settings for Horror 

Sheila Deeth's Blog - Guest Post: Nightmares
Dandilyon Fluff - A Spotlight and Excerpt: Evil Returns  - What Fun!  

October 7:

Clarissa Johal Author of Paranormal, Gothic Horror & Fantasy - Book Spotlight and Excerpt

October 8:

Ben Ireland's Blog - Interview

October 9:

Spreading the Writer's Word - Book Spotlight

October 10:

Joylene Nowell Butler, author - Guest Post: How to Write a Good Villain

October 11:

The Road to Nowhere... - Guest Post: Exploring the Appeal of Horror

October 12:

The J. Aurel Guay Archive - Interview

Pagan Spirits Book Blog - Guest Post: My Love Affair with Villains

October 13:

The Manicheans - Guest Post: Turning the Sweet, Sour

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Release of Killers and Demons II: They Return

Today's the Big Day!

Killers and Demons II: They Return is officially released!

Evil is back, with a greater appetite for death. 

Killers.

Demons.

They lurk forever in the shadows, smile at you in the morning, and haunt your dreams at night. You can’t hide, you can’t run, and there’s no escape. You can only scream when they come for you.

Killers and Demons II: They Return is a collection of thirteen tales, blending short stories and flash fiction, tales where the blood lingers on your tongue or spurts quickly from the swift cut.

The Villainous Roster:

Wade, every parent’s nightmare

Hannah and Mr. Greeley. Who is the victim and who is the villain?

Simon and Zoe, a married couple who are dying to be single again.

Norman and his "cookie" of a wife, Mabel.

Millicent and Jane, a delightful duo you shouldn’t invite to your Regency tea party

Amanda, who literally has a skeleton in her closet

Balthazar, the demon bounty hunter on the hunt once more.

Sarah, a young woman going through some changes and craving new tastes

Emmeline, hanged as a witch, now back from the dead for revenge

Gabrielle, a woman haunted by shadows

The Dollmaker, she showers death, and an umbrella won’t help

Nightmare Demons, bent on driving a town insane

And then there’s Alice, a little girl locked in the basement by her Daddy…

Together they form a spine-chilling cadre of predators.

Available at:

Goodreads

Smashwords

Amazon.com

Amazon.ca

Barnes and Noble

iTunes

And join the celebration on Facebook this afternoon at 2 PM EST: 

https://www.facebook.com/events/555619914538616/

And as part of the launch event, here's some trivia about the book:

Killers and Demons II: They Return Trivia:

• The book is a sequel to Killers and Demons, and the character of Balthazar appears in stories featured in both books.
• Eleven of the villainous characters are female, or demons with a female appearance.
• Five different time periods are represented in the book: Medieval, Regency, Colonial, Victorian, and today's Modern Era.
• Two of the stories, Up From the Ground and Shadows, were inspired by pictures.
• Relationships play a large part in the book. There are three stories about couples, one about a paid relationship, two with relationships that ended badly, and a strange tale of possession. Plus, there are some dysfunctional family matters peppered throughout the book. And of course, they all have a body count.
• The original title for my story, "The Dollmaker", was "The Rain Child".

Also, for the month of October, I'm offering the first book in the series, Killers and Demons for free on Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/59000

Excerpt from Killers and Demons II: They Return

My latest horror story collection, Killers and Demons II: They Return, launches tomorrow, and here's an sneak peek at what to expect...

Family Trait

Sarah sat in a coffee shop, staring out a window. She didn't want to think about what happened with Jason, about why she was single again, or why he was gone. Sarah thought she found her home with him, that they belonged together, but it fell apart so badly. She wanted to act as if it were just another breakup, except this time things were different.

“God, I acted like a crazy freak. I bet Jason thought so too before…” Sarah closed her eyes, blocking the memory of that night.

That’s why she sat here drinking a latte instead of going home. She didn't have to face her troubles here, just stare out the window and pretend. In her apartment, the reminders lingered.

“I know I’m going crazy.” She whispered her fears into her half-empty coffee cup. “I’m turning out like Mom.”

Sarah could still hear that phrase in her head.

The strong don’t break; they snap.

That’s how her mother’s problem was explained to a five-year-old Sarah by her Aunt Rachel.

And here I am at twenty, wondering if I've snapped too.

She didn't know how else to explain the things she wanted, the thoughts in her brain, her behaviour for the last few weeks. She drained the last of her coffee and sighed.

Hiding isn't going to help me though. I need to find answers. I just wish I knew where. I wish I had someone to talk to. I wish I didn't feel so alone.

She certainly couldn't count on her mess of a family. Her father moved out of the city last year, but even before, they had never been close, never connected after her mother went away. And her Aunt Rachel drifted out of her life after high school. She was on her own, the same old pattern.

Sarah sighed again. She knew she couldn't put it off anymore. She trashed her disposable coffee cup, left the shop, and drove home.

Inside her apartment, Sarah gazed over the stylish space that used to be her sanctuary, her refuge. She walked across the tile to the kitchen, trying not to look at the pale, scrubbed spot with its still-visible bloodstain. She opened the refrigerator and took out some of the raw meat that used to be her boyfriend Jason. She preheated a frying pan, added a little olive oil and seasoning, and fried part of his arm for supper. After that, she watched some TV and went to bed, dreading the next day.

Check out Killers and Demons II on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MRKCFWM

Embrace The Horror This October

Okay dear readers, today I'm giving you a rundown of what to expect from me this busy, busy October. I've got book launches, blog tours, and the annual Coffin Hop upcoming this month. I just hope I survive until November...

First up is the launch of my new book, Killers and Demons II: They Return. The official release is October 4th, and I'm kicking it off with a launch party on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/555619914538616/

Everyone is welcome to attend, and bring your friends. I'm giving away free copies of the book (plus the added bonus of the first book in the series), some digital artwork, and a couple of short fiction stories (in PDF format).

After the launch, I move into the Killers and Demons II blog tour, starting October 5th and ending October 13th. There's a great line up of blogs to visit, with a nice selection of posts, interviews and spotlights, and a contest . You can check out the lineup here on my blog: http://afstewartblog.blogspot.ca/p/blog-page_26.html



Also, starting today Oct. 1st, the first book, Killers and Demons is free on Smashwords until Halloween.

After the Killers and Demons II blog tour, I take a small break from horror, but not from my busy schedule. A story of mine, Grail Days, (all about witches, Camelot, immortality and a modern day Grail Quest) appears in the new anthology from Xchyler Publishing, Legends and Lore, which is being released on October 22nd. A blog tour will run from October 14th until the launch date of October 22nd, and I'll be one of the talented authors taking part with an interview. And of course I'll be front and center as one of the authors in the book's Facebook launch party. Xchyler Publishing's parties are always fun, and there are cool prizes up for grabs, including the metallic, Celtic bookmarks I'm offering.

And I'm still not done.
With one day of rest (on the 23rd), I swing into the annual Coffin Hop (Oct 24th-31st) which will take me straight on to Halloween.
This year the theme for my blog is Villains, with a side order of Myth. I'll be spotlighting Killers and Demons II, Legends and Lore, doing my regular poetry corner (plus, I'll be posting poems on the Kintsugi Poets Society, which is also doing the Coffin Hop), and I hope to have some guests stop by this year. As well, there will be another contest, with some great prize packs.


So, that's what to expect this month, I hope you join in the fun.