Shark River

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Dindi is kidnapped to be the bride of a shark... To escape she must untangle a terrible curse caused by a love and magic gone wrong.

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This stand-alone novella is set in Faearth, the world of The Unfinished Song. Available here ONLY.

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The Unfinished Song - This Young Adult Epic Fantasy series has sold over  70,000 copies and has 1,072 Five Star Ratings on Goodreads.

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February 12, 2014

The Unseen by J.L. Bryan

theunseenCover-1SMALLER

If you like a darker fantasy novel, check out J.L. Bryan’s The Unseen.

Cassidy is a young tattoo artist living in the Little Five Points neighborhood of Atlanta. She’s always suffered terrible nightmares, and sometimes the hideous creatures seem to follow her out of her dreams and into her waking life, though she’s the only one who can see them. Drugs and alcohol can blot them out, but never entirely chase them away.

When a demonic cult begins to take control of the people in her life, including her younger brother, Cassidy discovers that the unseen world of monsters is very real. She can no longer avoid it. To protect those she loves, she must accept her own hidden supernatural talents and face the forces of evil before the sinister cult achieves its twisted goals and casts the world into darkness.

You can download The Unseen on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Sony, Kobo and Smashwords.

 

Excerpt

 

“Come on, Tami.  It’ll be fun.  Please?” Cassidy resorted to a begging tone, locking eyes with Tamila.  What she wanted to say was: I am desperately trying to make you part of the group here, so please stop acting like such a tromboner tonight. “As a favor to me?”

“It does work better with four people,” Barb added.

Tamila sighed, looked at the board, and reluctantly left her chair to sit next to Cassidy, while offering a shaky, frightened smile to no one in particular.

“Okay.  Let’s get it over with,” Tamila whispered.  She placed her trembling fingers on the base of the upside-down wine glass. “We should say a prayer first.”

Barb and Reese found this hilarious, and Tamila frowned at their peals of drunken laughter.

“Let’s go,” Barb said.  She closed her eyes. “Are there any spirits—”

“Come talk to us, spirits!” Reese interrupted, closing her eyes and also swaying from side to side.  In her best drama-club voice, she projected, “Speak to us, give us messages from the world of the dead…”

The glass trembled under their fingers, and Cassidy gasped.  Everybody leaned in for a closer look, but the glass became still again.

“You should say only good spirits,” Tamila whispered. “Or we could end up talking to demons, or evil ghosts, or dead murderers…”

“Calling all demons, evil ghosts, and dead murderers!” Reese cried out in a slurred voice, then doubled forward, laughing.

“Be serious, Reese,” Barb said.  In a louder, more formal voice, she asked, “Are there any messages from the Other Side?  Like from our spirit guides or totem animals?”

“Totem animals,” Reese snickered.

“We all have one.  Mine’s a frog,” Barb told her, and Reese laughed and shook her head, tossing her blond hair.

“You look like a frog!” Reese said.

“Sh!  It’s moving,” Cassidy told them.

The wine glass shuddered again, and this time it began to slide over the poster board, the lip scraping and smearing a few of the still-wet letters, gathering glowing paint around its rim.

The glass moved across the alphabet to the word YES in the upper left corner of the poster, scraping up glue and glitter from a sparkly red pentagram along the way.

“Who’s doing that?  Are you doing that?” Reese asked Tamila, who shook her head, her wide eyes fixed on the board.

“Hello?  Are you a spirit?” Barb asked.

The glass slid half an inch, then right back into place.  YES again.

“Who are you?” Barb asked. “I mean, to whom do we have the pleasure of speaking?”

The wineglass lay still for a moment, then vibrated and hummed as if someone had plinked it with a fingernail.  The glass slid over the alphabet.

Cassidy felt her heart racing.  She hadn’t expected it to work at all, and it was starting to freak her out.  She wished they hadn’t turned off the lights.

The wine glass smeared its way across the board, its entire rim glowing green now.  It stopped at the letter N, and didn’t move again until Barb said the letter aloud.  It stopped again on the I.

“N…I…” Barb said.

“Nipple?” Reese suggested.

The glass continued on to the B, then H…A…and then it stopped on Z.

“N-I-B-H-A-Z,” Barb said.

“It’s just nonsense,” Cassidy said.

The wineglass jerked under their fingers, then flew to the word NO, dragging their fingers with it.

“Who’s doing that?” Reese asked. “Is it you, Cassidy?  Barb?  It’s you, isn’t it, Barb?  You big Goth girl.”

“Sh,” Barb said. “Nib…haz?  Is that right?”

The wineglass zipped over to YES.

“What does that mean?” Cassidy asked.

The wineglass spelled out N…A…M…E.

“Your name is Nibhaz?”

YES.

“Sounds like a demon’s name to me,” Tamila said in a soft voice.

“Pfft, shut up,” Reese told her. “Like you would know.”

“Do you have a message for someone here, Nibhaz?” Barb asked.

YES.

“For who?” Barb asked.

C…A…S…S…

Cassidy felt her blood turn cold.

“Oh, shit, for Cassidy?” Reese asked.

YES.

“Nibhaz, what is your message for Cassidy?” Barb asked.

The four girls watched as the glass crept back and forth along the top row of text.  D…I…E…

“Die?  It’s telling her to die?” Tamila gasped.

“Sh, it’s not done yet,” Barb told her.

“Yeah, it’s not done yet,” Reese echoed, her eyes fixated on the glass.

Cassidy shivered, trying to think of any non-scary word that started with “die.”

“Diesel?” Cassidy asked in a shaky voice.  She expected someone to laugh at her, but nobody did.

The glass moved back to the letter D.

“Died,” Barb said. “He’s saying he died, I think.  He’s a ghost.”

The glass whipped over to the word NO, then returned to the letter D.

D…I…E…

D…I…E…

D…I…E…

 

To read the rest of the story, download The Unseen from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Sony, Kobo and Smashwords.

To find more from J.L. Bryan, visit his website, Twitter and Facebook.

 

 

November 22, 2013

Demon’s Doorway by Glenn Bullion

Alex has a good life. Being a unique half demon, he’s used his powers to conquer feral vampires, the darkness inside him, and help ghosts in need. But there’s one more challenge that will be his strongest. Marrying Cindy, the love of his life.

Jack has been cursed by a witch’s magic for two hundred years. Unable to sleep, unable to die, his only hope for peace lies with young Kevin, a pure witch.

Kevin has his own problems. Controlling the forces of magic is only the beginning. He’s lost, unsure of himself, trying to find his place in the world. Now, a man named Jack is asking him to perform magic he didn’t even know existed.

A wedding, a witch that needs guidance, an invulnerable man with anger issues, and a new threat, with evil intentions. Four-hundred-year-old vampire Victoria may finally be in over her head.

Download Demon’s Doorway on Amazon and Smashwords.

Excerpt

The timing couldn’t have been better. Alicia was finally alone. She sat on the edge of a table, not far from the buffet, with her legs crossed, watching everyone around her. Kevin understood Jack’s comment about her being proud of her legs. She was stunning, and could only imagine how she looked in a pair of shorts.

She didn’t see him as he approached. He could introduce himself to her. His mind was blank, but they did have Victoria and Alex in common. Certainly some topics of conversation would pop in his head.

She ran a hand through her short hair and smiled at someone across the room. Even her smile was beautiful. Kevin felt his confidence slipping. He tried to hold onto it before it left, but it was no use. It ran through his fingers like water.

He veered off, taking another angle and walking straight for the buffet table. It was all but deserted, and he grabbed a paper plate to not look like an idiot.

Although it was probably too late for that.

Closing his eyes, he tried to keep calm. Every terrible thought came, one after another. Jack was probably belly-laughing at his expense across the room. If Alicia truly was watching him, she either felt he was a coward or a pig.

He absentmindedly put a tiny amount of food on his plate. He wasn’t hungry at all, but couldn’t drift through the buffet line empty-handed. The staff smiled politely at him, and he returned the gesture.

“The ham is good,” a voice said next to him. “Have you tried a piece of the wedding cake yet?”

He turned his head, and there she was. Alicia stood mere inches from him, with her own paper plate. She was smiling at him, waiting for an answer. The problem was her smile seemed to do something to Kevin’s brain, and he’d already forgotten what she asked.

Something tried to form in his mind, but it wasn’t words. His stomach dropped when he realized what it was.

“Baby powder.”

Alicia wrinkled her nose. “Uh, excuse me?”

He looked up at the staff, most of whom had gathered along the wall, no longer needed in the kitchen.

“Does anyone have a pen I could borrow?”

A kind woman handed him a pen, and Kevin set a napkin on a bare spot on the table. He scribbled in the witch’s language, the letters and words coming naturally.

Chili powder. Olive oil. Baby powder.

That was it. Another ingredient in what was becoming a spell-tease. Whenever a spell completed in his mind, he would immediately know what it did. That knowledge still eluded him.

Alicia giggled quietly next to him, looking over his shoulder. “What is that?”

Kevin glanced at the partial spell. To any non-witch, their language looked like strange hieroglyphics, random lines and pictures.

“Uh…something very cool and mysterious.”

“Ooh. So, you’re a cool and mysterious guy?”

“Not really.”

She laughed, an intoxicating sound. “I saw you at the church, sitting next to Victoria.”

“Yeah. That was me. I was sitting to her left.”

He wanted to slap himself. He could only wonder what ridiculous thing he’d say next.

“I was in front. I was the maid of honor.” She glanced down at the table. “I was also the best man. It was a little weird.”

Kevin picked up on a detail. Maybe talking with Jack was rubbing off on him.

Alicia was just as nervous as he was.

His confidence tried to return. It wasn’t back completely, but ever so slightly, like he fed it some of his magic water.

“I think everyone here knows who you are. You’re Alicia, right?”

“That’s me. But everyone calls me Leese. Only my brother calls me Alicia.”

He held out his hand. “I’m Kevin.”

She smiled again as they shook hands. He wished she’d stop smiling. It was distracting.

Leese scanned the dining room. People had started to leave, but there were still plenty left having a good time. They had their choice of places to sit.

“You want to grab a table?” she asked. “I think we’re the only two eating.”

“Yeah, that sounds great.”

They found an empty table off to the side, away from the action. Kevin could see out the doorway and through a window that it was night out. The events earlier in the day seemed like a lifetime ago as he sat across the table from Leese.

“Is that all you got?” she asked, nodding at his plate.

He looked at his randomly-thrown-together food, and pushed it to the side.

“I’m not hungry at all. I only went to the buffet because I was too nervous to walk up to you.”

She smiled, and pushed her food away as well.

“I only got food to talk to you. I was wondering if you even noticed me.”

“Oh, believe me, you were noticed.”

She turned red before gesturing across the room. “So, you’re a friend of Victoria’s?”

He spun in his chair to see the vampire and Jack still sitting, laughing and talking. Actually, she was the one laughing, Jack was more sneering.

“Yeah. She’s the only person I really know here. I only met your brother once.”

“Are you two…?”

He finished her question, laughing at the thought. “A couple? No, no way. She’s a little too old for me.”

“Yeah, just a little.”

At that moment, they both knew. It wasn’t much of a stretch to make. They both knew Victoria was a vampire, and they knew each other knew.

 

 

 

Find more from Glenn on his website and Facebook.

October 5, 2013

How To Lose Weight Fast While Prepping For The Impending Zombie Apocalypse By T.L. Campbell

The world has gone insane during the apocalyptic day where zombies walk the earth. Your chances for survival are probably slim. Lets face it you’ve put on a few pounds and your endurance level has crashed through the floor. You will never outrun the living dead. So what do you do? What is the mother of all secrets to weight loss and the perfect set of ABS?

HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT FAST While Prepping For The Impending Zombie Apocalypse is a serious, but humorous and entertaining approach to becoming fit. This book takes the work out of workout.

Enjoy news flashes from our correspondents in the zom-ridden field as well as several mini missions that you will enjoy exercising with and so much more. This book will prepare you to face anything with increased endurance and confidence.

Download this zombie-themed health guide on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Smashwords.

Excerpt

NEWS FLASH! 
This just in from our correspondent in the field:

Malcolm was always overweight and possibly the regular butt of jokes in the class throughout his childhood. When the zombie apocalypse descended on his town the entire community and Malcolm’s family suddenly found themselves under siege from a band of gypsies that had been slaughtered by an unknown force, but survived into a form of living dead, just two miles from Malcolm’s parents’ home where he also lived.Although the security forces and the police had been called they could find not a sign of the zombies, and nobody knew where they had gone. It was not until the authorities had given up and gone that the maggot-ridden undead came out of hiding and this was about to become a huge issue for 16-year old Malcolm.Malcolm and his three best friends, Roger, Pete and Dave decided to wander down to the derelict gypsy camp. Malcolm’s friends were slim and fit and regularly hounded him to keep up as they bounced with enthusiasm towards the former gypsy camp.

Upon arriving at the derelict campsite on the outskirts of town, they all found a number of caravans that had been clearly trashed and vandalized with dirty net curtains blowing in the wind. Suddenly Malcolm heard a noise from one of the caravans and it sounded like a man in great pain. Roger, Dave and Pete spun on their heels and ran leaving Malcolm rooted to the spot.

It was then that Malcolm was to experience the most frightening thing he had ever experienced in his life; a zom burst through the caravan door and began to stagger toward him with arms in a position to grab him. Malcolm turned and saw his friends run and he began to waddle through the long grass that surrounded the camp and ran as fast as he could. But his sheer weight hampered his rapid departure and he stumbled on a clump of grass and then tried to gather himself back to his feet but his extra pounds that he carried made the process so much slower. As the zombie descended on Malcolm, his friends watched from a safe distance shook their heads in disbelief that a zombie could catch up to a young man who was still alive and well but just a tad portly.

Malcolm did eventually escape but only by the skin of his chocolate-munching teeth. The close call forced him to go to start losing weight, because his bulk so nearly cost his life!