Novus Monstrum

 

 

These monsters are never-before-seen.

These monsters bite, and don’t let go.

These monsters aren’t your grandparents’ boogeymen, but they are not tame, and they want to climb right down into your nightmares and make you their own.

Novus Monstrum

The Midnight Zone Book 1

Edited by Douglas Gwilym & Ken MacGregor

Genre: Weird Creature Horror Anthology

 “Mysterious, merciless, mirthful. New favorites await you in this superb anthology.”

-Johnny Compton (author of Spite House, Esquire best horror book of 2023 and Stoker longlister)

This may look like just a book, but NOVUS MONSTRUM could infect your brain, shake your sense of what’s real, change you forever. This is twenty-two all-original new monster tales from the greats: Jonathan Maberry, Joe R. Lansdale, Gabino Iglesias, Gemma Files, Gaby Triana, Ramsey Campbell, Jeffrey Thomas, Gwendolyn Kiste, and Lucy A. Snyder, plus thirteen stories from new names (see below) destined to become some of your favorite authors.

These monsters are never-before-seen. These monsters bite, and don’t let go. These monsters aren’t your grandparents’ boogeymen, but they are not tame, and they want to climb right down into your nightmares and make you their own.

Welcome to the new anthology series The Midnight Zone.

Ken MacGregor, editor of the Shirley-Jackson-Award-nominated anthology Stitched Lips and the uproarious Burnt Fur, teamed up with Bram-Stoker-Award-nominated short story author Douglas Gwilym, editor of Appetites and Harmony & Dissonance, to take you to strange and dark new places. They’ll ask you to go deeper and weirder than The Twilight Zone, to a place (like the real-world midnight zone, a mile beneath the ocean’s surface) where no sunlight penetrates. Join us as we explore the inhospitable, surprising, uncomfortable, bizarre, and otherworldly.

Go on. Dive in. Lose yourself to The Midnight Zone.

Also Featuring:
Amanda M. Blake
Joshua Bartolome
Matt Brandenburg
R.A. Busby
Marco Cultrera
E.C. Dorgan
Douglas Ford
Sarah Hans
Jamie Lackey
Donna J.W. Munro
Frank Oreto
Tim Pieraccini
Pris Sears

Includes:

A Grace of Finer Form - Post-apocalyptic survival tale. The monsters are mutants: amalgams of living creatures, one so enormous it rivals the Titans of myth.

Brother Bone - A giant, living skeleton that feeds on the skeletons of its victims (by ripping away the flesh and meat) and using the bone fragments to expand itself, in return granting its family effective immortality.

First Day Jitters at Slappy’s - The monsters are living theme-park mascot characters. It’s far more disturbing than it sounds. This one is bonkers.

God Damn You to Hell, John Glenn - The monster is a massive, mutated, extremely hungry…sea monkey.

I Clean the Monster that Killed My Husband Every Morning - A vicious anti-pollution tale, the monsters are creatures that come up from below the earth and violently destroy any machine that creates pollutants, and whomever happens to be using them at the time.

Lizard War - Translucent giant lizards swarming across the alien landscape. The “astronauts” are all women, and the main character, Eliza, who was the cook before everything changed but is now in charge, loses her lover Joan in a climactic scene. She floats out into space, “her blood hanging in drops around her like falling rose petals, her hair fanned out like a peacock’s tail….”

Mother Ship - Machine/organic spaceship and her godspawn child.

The Path of Skulls - Sexless, cube-headed simulacra and deep arcane mystery.

Song of the Devil Trumpet - Quite lovely trees that trick you into eating their fruit so they can take over your body and repurpose you.

Wonce was a Woman - The monsters are human female/office machine hybrids. A woman goes looking for a mythical monster woman who is foretold as a sort of savior–and ultimately finds it is herself.

With an introduction by the amazing Jamie Flanagan, screenwriter for Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, Creepshow, and Fall of the House of Usher, and original cover art by the astonishing Trevor Henderson, internet cult phenomenon, creator of Siren Head, and weaver of monsters!

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Douglas Gwilym has been known to compose a weird-fiction rock opera or two. His short story “Year Six” is on Ellen Datlow’s recommended reading list for Best Horror 14. He edited Triangulation for four years and now co-edits The Midnight Zone—forthcoming edition, Novus Monstrum, a collection of never-before-seen monsters, featuring original stories by greats, and new voices, in strange, dark fiction. He reads classics of the proto-Weird on YouTube and has been guest staff at Alpha Young Writers workshop. His short fiction appears in LampLight, Lucent Dreaming, Novel Noctule, Shelter of Daylight, Tales from the Moonlit Path, Penumbric Speculative Fiction Magazine, and Tales to Terrify.

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Ken MacGregor has written three story collections, an award winning young adult novella (Devil’s Bane), and has co-authored a novel (Headcase). He is a member of the Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers and an active member of the Horror Writers Association. He’s also written TV and radio commercials, sketch comedy, a music video, a one-act play, a scattering of poems, and a zombie movie. Ken has curated three original anthologies, one of which (Stitched Lips) was a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award. His third anthology, Novus Monstrum, was co-edited with Douglas Gwilym. It is the first installment in the Midnight Zone series for Dragon’s Roost Press.

Ken is also a part-time literary assassin: he will write you into an original short story and kill you for money. Ken drives the bookmobile and lives with his kids, a fierce-but-cuddly tiger cat, and the ashes of his wife.

He can be found at www.kenmacgregor.com.

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Quake

 

 

 The secrets of the bayou dance to the rhythm of jazz!  

Quake

Jazz Sessions Book 1

by Maya Alden

Genre: Romantic Suspense  

The secrets of the bayou dance to the rhythm of jazz!

She was the princess of Bayou Belle, sleeping with me, a bayou rat born on the wrong sides of the sheets.

Gaia Doucet was my first love, the one who had me body and soul…until she accused me of something terrible; and I was sent into cruel exile by her mother. But now, ten years later, I'm back. Her grandfather has left me controlling interest of the Doucet empire and I'm ready to enjoy my revenge. I'll start with her mother and end with her.

While I made a fortune in New York, she's slinging drinks at Jazz Sessions, her brothers' bar in the pulsing heart of the French Quarter. I have achieved all my dreams and she's a failure.

I'm ready to crush her into the ground even though I want her with the same desperation as I did a decade ago.

But when someone hires a hitman to kill her, it sets off a tumultuous QUAKE that shakes the very foundations of our lives. Hate her, I may, but I won't be able to live in a world where she's not there.

In the steamy, seductive streets of New Orleans, where secrets and scandals are as common as the sultry jazz rhythms, Quake is the first book in the Jazz Sessions series. Please note, each novel in this series is a standalone romance, complete with its own satisfying happily ever after. Yet, the shadow of a sinister family mystery stretches across the arc of the first three books.

Perfect for fans of LJ Shen and Shain Rose.

Note: This book contains mature themes, including violence, strong language, & sexual content, for full content warnings, please see Content Warnings page on Maya's website

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Maya has a passion for weaving tales of love and desire.

With a background in literature and a heart filled with hope, Maya pours her emotions onto the pages of her novels, capturing the essence of true love and the power it holds to transform lives. Combining unforgettable characters, sizzling chemistry, and heartfelt emotions, Maya's stories will whisk you into a world of passion and enchantment.

Maya invites you to join her on a journey of love, laughter, and happily-ever-afters that will leave you with a sigh and a smile.

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A Conjuring of Ravens

 

 

 In a world where magic is a science, Siobhan is a genius.

But even geniuses need schooling.  

A Conjuring of Ravens

A Practical Guide to Sorcery Book 1

by Azalea Ellis

Genre: Epic Fantasy

In a world where magic is a science, Siobhan is a genius.

But even geniuses need schooling.

When Siobhan stumbled into the theft of a priceless magical book, she thought her dreams of becoming the world's most powerful sorcerer were destroyed.

But then a mysterious spell changed her life forever...

Siobhan is now wearing the body of a strange man and has a new identity—Sebastien. With a new chance for a new start, she allies herself with a local gang—secretly a revolutionary party funding itself through crime. Now, she is bound by vow to repay them in magic and favors.

But as Sebastien's reputation begins to bloom, and Siobhan's old enemies still lurk in the shadows, she quickly realizes that the secrets of this world are deeper and darker than she ever could have imagined.

Forced to juggle the two sides of her double life, Siobhan is determined to uncover the truth and take control of the name they gave her—The Raven Queen.

A Conjuring of Ravens is the first book in a hard fantasy series that includes: an intelligent protagonist, a rules-based magic system, and some hilarious misunderstandings.

Get it now.

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**Don’t miss the rest of the series!**

Find them on AzaleaEllis.com

 I’m the type of person that often has a wacky, shocking, or silly–but totally true–story to tell about my life.

(Like the time my brother and I were chased through a secluded strip of woods in the middle of the city, for over a mile, by a naked man with an erection.)

(Or the time a trucker threw an open bottle of pee out his passenger side window without looking right as I was walking by. You can guess what I got splashed with.)

(Or the time a man hit me with his pickup truck on purpose while I was riding my bike to school, and then insisted I get into the vehicle with him so he could drive me the rest of the way as an apology. Needless to say, I resisted.)

The early part of my childhood was spent on a small farmstead, and I’ve got an active imagination that tends toward the outrageous and the macabre, which led to me being voted “most likely to borrow someone else’s car to transport a dead body.”

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Here Be Jinn

 

 

 Ancient magic is an advantage in the battle for the modern Middle East  

Here Be Jinn

Fieldwork in Mesopotamia Book 1

by Dennis Tsarson

Genre: Contemporary Mythic Fantasy Action Adventure  

Ancient and unknown forces have been unleashed in war-ravaged Iraq.

When Elliott Gildart decides to join an archeological dig in the drylands of northern Iraq, he expects a break from his monotonous job. But the discovery of an unusual and out-of-place megalithic platform turns exploration into a risky undertaking and leaves Elliott facing a future he’s not sure he’s prepared for.

Meanwhile, Neil Feaver and his cameraman, Jake Parvis, stumble upon their own strange developments while filming a documentary about Iraq’s ongoing civil war. Saved from imminent danger by a mysterious stranger, they soon learn that lost magic and mystical artifacts have fallen into the wrong hands. Now, everyone finds themselves caught in the crisis, involving coalition forces, Islamist militants, and enigmatic factions that have existed since the times of the Ancient Near East.

As terrifying forces align, can they prevent impending peril? Or will ancient magic be enough to turn the tides?

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A self-described amateur scholar, Dennis Tsarson has been interested in the world’s mythology and folklore traditions since reading Greek myths as a boy. That interest grew into an undergraduate degree in history and archeological training, which he incorporates into his fantasy retellings while travelling the globe. When he’s not writing or exploring new countries and their cultural histories, you can find him settled in the United Kingdom, studying the comparative tendencies in folktales around the world.

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Walker's Vale

 

 

 The Devil is in the Details  

Walker’s Vale

Walker’s Vale Book 1

by John J. Zelenski

Genre: Faith-Based Supernatural Thriller  

 James Cooper moved his family to Walker's Vale, Pennsylvania, in search of the ideal life. What he got was the just opposite. As this small town's eerie history is revealed and repeated, it's clear the devil is in the details...and he's waiting for the Cooper's young daughter.

When the FBI come knocking at his door, James quickly realizes that his ideal life may come with a steeper price than he thought. This story of faith, deception, and horror will captivate readers as one man fights for his family's safety and embarks on a journey toward redemption in this suspenseful supernatural thriller.

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The Journal of Ezekiel Walker

Walker’s Vale Book 2

 In the fall of 1945, just after World War II, Ezekiel Walker has returned home on a furlough from his Civilian Public Service Unit. As Ezekiel tries to adjust back to life at the farm, strange and unexplainable events begin to occur at the homestead and Ezekiel begins to experience visions and bizarre sightings.

When a stranger suddenly arrives with promises to rebuild the small town of Walker’s Vale and befriend the young Ezekiel, a portal to the supernatural is opened and lives will never be the same. With seemingly no one at his side, Ezekiel is forced to become the man he doubts he can become and to finally understand his part in the war between the angelic and the demonic.

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 Author John J. Zelenski currently resides in beautiful northeastern Pennsylvania with his wife and two children. Besides writing, John works as a VA Certifying Official for the oldest distance-learning school in the United States. In his spare time (which is scarce) he enjoys collecting and selling sports cards and memorabilia and playing bass guitar, and video games.

John was inspired to write “Walker’s Vale” in part from some of his own experiences in the realm of the supernatural when he was a child. He is a born-again Christian and attends a Pentecostal church in his area. John is an admirer of the life and teachings of Smith Wigglesworth and William Branham. He cites Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti as essential influences on his writing.

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When the Stars Align

 

 

A fake dating, movie star romance

Loving a Star

When the Stars Align Book 1

by Emery Cruz

Genre: Contemporary Romance  

 Pretend to date the broody, ridiculously handsome movie star while writing the score for his film… It’s a great gig until we score in other ways.

In my teens, Ethan Stone was one of the biggest stars, and I had a huge crush on him. Until a decade later, while I’m standing next to him on a movie set and he opens his mouth. What a jerk!

Luckily, I’m here to write and perform the songs for the movie. So I don’t have to work with him at all.

That is until the director and Ethan’s agent ask me to fake date him to generate some tabloid gossip about the movie.

I’d rather shower naked with a hungry bear.

But I’ve made a promise to myself, so I need to see this project to the end. And if I play this right, I might just be able to do that and get the hell out of this selfish, backstabbing industry.

But Ethan has a secret, and I’ve just fallen in love…

**Only .99cents!**

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Unlucky in Love

When the Stars Align Book 2

 Dating your childhood idol is never a good idea. That doesn’t mean I won’t do it.

When my client auditions for the role of a lifetime, I cross paths with the casting director—former teenage bad boy Joey Radnor all grown up and even more delicious than I remember. But he’s also broody, rude, and self-centered. I want to run when he asks me out, but I can’t tick off the guy in charge of hiring my client.

Our date is even worse than I expected, and once it’s over, I ignore him rather than admit I can’t stand the man I spent most of my teenage years drooling over. But when he cuts my client from the roster, my job and reputation are on the line. Meeting him face to face again is a bad idea. We’re oil and water. We don’t mix.

But when I look into those gorgeous eyes, I know we can beat the odds…if we don’t kill each other first.

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Love in the Spotlight

When the Stars Align Book 3

 I didn’t start the conversation with Teddy, but now all I want is for it to continue.

Ready to leave modeling behind, I strut into an A-lister event to pitch my cosmetics line. Investors are swarming until a self-absorbed movie star barges in and asks me out. I’m dumbfounded when the investors scatter, but Teddy is good looking, famous, and most importantly, rich.

A few dates certainly couldn’t hurt.

Teddy’s agent thinks I’m bad news, but dating him is better publicity than modeling. When Teddy and I become closer, though, his agent makes him choose between me and his career. Hurt when he hesitates, I end it for him.

Depressed and alone, I cling to his fading spotlight and release my cosmetics line early. When sales explode, the press claims our relationship was a stunt to sell products, which was maybe true…at first.

When my personal life implodes, I realize the one solid thing in my life had been Teddy, and I’d let ambition ruin that.

He has no reason to take me back, but with the rest of my life in ruins, I have nothing left to lose.

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**On Sale - Get the box set for only .99 cents!! **

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I'm Emery Cruz. I LOVE books! I love to read them, and I love to write them. My favorites are contemporary romance stories. I like to be hooked and twisted and left feeling exhausted and happy ;)

I am a newly published author. I plan to turn my passion into my full-time career. So, I will continue to write stories I hope you will love.

If you'd like to receive my newsletter or be a part of my ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) team, please join from my website: EmeryCruz.com

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