Showing posts with label Shades and Shadows. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shades and Shadows. Show all posts

Thursday, 30 January 2014

Shades and Shadows

Today I'm shining the spotlight on the book, Shades and Shadows: A Paranormal Anthology (published by Xchyler Publishing), and specifically on one of its stories, The Death of Dr. Marcus Wells by J. Aurel Guay. I first made the acquaintance of the author when he kindly reviewed all the stories in another of Xchyler's anthologies, Mechanized Masterpieces (here's his review of my story: http://jaurelguay.wordpress.com/2013/05/23/our-man-fred-mechanized-masterpieces/).

When he decided to submit one of his own stories, I was privileged to be a beta reader for Marcus Wells, and delighted when it was published in Shades and Shadows (and the story is now being developed into a novel, so perhaps we haven't seen the last of the good Dr. Wells). So here's a quick peek at The Death of Dr. Marcus Wells and Shades and Shadows: A Paranormal Anthology. 


The Death of Dr. Marcus Wells by J. Aurel Guay: 

A young doctor doubts his own sanity when he sees his dead fiancé in the night, but a mysterious stranger offers him clues not only to her disappearance but the gruesome murders which plague London, and the means to solve both mysteries.

Darkness met Marcus’ eyes. Something had awoken him. He fumbled desperately for the matchbox on the nearby nightstand. At the same time that his fingers found the small tin, he heard the delicate clink of metal against the hardwood floor. With a scratch, the sulfur tip burst to life, casting a warm glow on the room.
Marcus slid from his sheets and scoured the floor for the ring he had knocked from the nightstand. A glint of diamond and a gleam of gold shone from under his bed.
As he stooped to retrieve the precious object, something beyond the ring caught his eye. On the opposite side of the bed, a pair of small, bare feet stood, motionless, by his bedside.





 Shades and Shadows: A Paranormal Anthology

In the dead of night, you sense something . . . other . . . beyond your sight, out there in the darkness. You feel a breath upon your neck, cold and clammy, fecund with mold and decay. Your hair stands on end from no random chill. The air is still. No one is there.
Travel with nine talented writers into their paranormal world, but don’t disregard that inkling that niggles somewhere in the pit of your stomach to leave the light on, to shun that dark room, and to pull the covers over your head.

Whatever you do, don't look under the bed.

The Music Man: An ill-begotten ghost story and a child’s disappearance has haunted Peter Holt his entire life. His one wish: face his personal bogeyman and right a terrible wrong . . . and perhaps find the key to laying his childhood demon to rest.

China Doll: Nothing stays broken in Kris’ small town, but someone always pays the price. Kris must decide if she is willing to do so when her beloved doll is shattered, and discovers deep secrets about her family in the process.

Split Ends: The love between Frank and Bets has never been physical, as the entire town knows. But when Bets faces heartbreak and turns to Frank for comfort, their choices open up a whole new realm of possibility.

Child of the Underworld: Starving for love and affection, Lara escapes her mother’s bleak realm to feast on the light, color, and sound of the world “upstairs.” But only one thing sates her rapacious appetite—and threatens to banish her to the darkness forever.

The Cost of Custody: When a child goes missing, Jonathan Alvey, PI, knows none but he has the skills to rescue her. But, her estranged parents must come together to create the powerful magic to find her before it’s too late.

Tombstone: Death couldn't stop one old farmer from protecting his land from oilmen, timber-cutters, and his own family. But can he hold out against 21st century technology and a researcher who sees more than dollars and cents in his homestead?

Ghost Townies: Dean and Jimbo need two things to survive the ghost apocalypse: a bolt hole where no one has died, and batteries for their flashlights. Running skills and dumb luck have kept them alive thus far, but not all the evil is amongst the dead.

Crossroads: An unexpected road trip gives Rob Daniels a chance to escape the shackles that bind him. Can Nate, his down-and-out brother, save Rob from repeating Nate’s mistakes? Or will a stranded traveler tempt Rob down forbidden paths?

The Death of Dr. Marcus Wells: The young resident doubts his own sanity when he sees his dead fiancé in the night, but a mysterious stranger offers him clues not only to her disappearance but the gruesome murders which plague London, and the means to solve both mysteries.

Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo and Smashwords


Wednesday, 30 October 2013

#CoffinHop Day 7: Inhuman

We are taking a break from the creepy world of fairies today and trekking back to the world of monsters, human or otherwise, with a guest post by fellow Xchyler Publishing author, (and fellow Canadian), R. M. Ridley. Here’s his take on the things that give us shivers…


Inhuman – a phrase used often in horror. A term which can be used to convey so much, in only one word. It evokes a visceral reaction without providing any details. What is it about that one word which makes us flinch? Why does it sum up horror itself?
I believe that word holds power, in part, because it gives no particulars. By saying ‘What he saw beyond that door was inhuman’ allows the readers to envision any, and all, possibilities. ‘Inhuman’ may call to mind an amorphous blob waving tentacles to one and a chitinous tube with a gaping mouth to another.
The vagueness of ‘inhuman’ conjures the primal fear buried deep within the reader. It is fun to write the thing you see in your own head. It is natural to want to convey the wrongness of your own imagining to your audience. However, there is purity in the works of those authors like Lovecraft, who leave the horror to the readers own worst nightmares.
‘Inhuman’ can strike a different note of fear as well. When used not to describe a creature from some dark dimension but the behavior and actions of one that is, in all other ways, all too human, such as the fascination with the individuals and characters that are killers – serial killers being a prime example.
These incarnations of the term ‘inhuman’ fascinate and scare because not only do they blend in - seem like one of us - but because in their apparent humanity, their inhuman actions become even more horrorific.
A demon from hell eating the neighbor is understandable to us because they are not human. These creatures that we create to scare us are expected to be heartless killers. We understand that, because that’s why we imagine them. But, when it is one of our own – when it is a person – it becomes harder to understand, to figure out the why.
This fear goes far beyond that it will be our own neighbor who ‘seemed so nice’ but then ate the mailman. It is, in fact, the fear that within each of us there is the possibility to be ‘inhuman’.
Tapping into that fear, making each reader question their own interior darkness, is something I have yet to achieve - but I strive for it. I want to write that story that makes each and every reader shiver in fear as they touch their own inner ‘inhuman’.


R. M. Ridley lives with his wife on a small homestead in Canada, raising chickens and sheep. He has been writing stories, both long and short, for three decades, the themes of which range from the gruesome to the fantastical. As an individual who suffers from severe Bi-polar disorder, R. M. Ridley is a strong believer in being open about mental health issues and uses his writing to escape, when his thoughts become too wild.


R. M. Ridley’s ‘The Cost of Custody’, a paranormal P.I. story about a kidnapped child, magic, and a father’s love, is one of nine short stories in ‘Shades and Shadows: A Paranormal Anthology’ – available now:  http://www.amazon.com/Shades-Shadows-Paranormal-Anthology-ebook/dp/B00FRS9CA4/




And in honour of today’s post, one lucky person who leaves a comment will win a free copy of Death by Drive-In, the Coffin Hop Anthology.

You can find out more about the book at the Coffin Hop website
All profits from the anthology will be donated to LitWorld.org, a  non-profit organization supporting child literacy and social improvement the world over.


Plus, don't forget to scroll on down for the list of more Coffin Hoppers to visit, and enter the Rafflecopter contest.








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