Each of the seven tales that Michael Aronovitz brings together in his first collection of stories is a powerful, hard-hitting specimen of contemporary weird fiction. From "How Bria Died," which tells of a baleful entity lurking in the bowels of a placid-seeming high school, to "Quest for Sadness," with its searing analysis of an aberrant mind, to "The Legend of the Slither-Shifter," in which a babysitter discovers far more than she expected in an urban household, Aronovitz displays an enviable skill in the handling of supernatural conceptions. The capstone of the collection is a long novella, "Toll Booth," a richly complex tale of death and betrayal among teenagers. Michael Aronovitz is a new voice in horror fiction, but it is one that will be heard far and wide. "Seven Deadly Pleasures is a startlingly good collection. With the assuredness of a born storyteller, Aronovitz rips the bland surface off the everyday to reveal the rolling horrors that lie beneath. These stories are raw with emotion, and the true terror of life, but be careful as they drag you down into the darkness, because you won't return the same."-William Lashner, author of Blood and Bone "Seven Deadly Pleasures is scary smart-more than just monsters and ghosts, these stories are beautifully crafted pieces of writing that tap into the darkest places of the human psyche. Lovers of both beautiful writing and spine-tingling terror will fall in love with this collection."-Dr. Annalisa Castaldo, Widener University "What is impressive about Aronovitz's tales is their range of tone, mood, and substance. . . . His surehandedness in prose, in character portrayal, and in the pacing and development of the short story mark him as a veteran."-From S. T. Joshi's Foreword

Seven Deadly Pleasures

Literature & Fiction

Aronovitz, Michael

Genre Fiction

Hippocampus Press

This new book from critically acclaimed genre author Michael Aronovitz collects some of his greatest stories that celebrate the beauty of the darkness in the world. In the section titled GIRLS, you'll learn "How Bria Died," and will also meet "The Sculptor" in the story that inspired Aronovitz's full-length serial killer novel of the same name. In the section featuring PSYCHOS, you'll feel the chill of the Anti-Christ in "Quest for Sadness," and fall prey to the most frightening circus creature on the face of the earth in "The Exterminator." In TOOLS & TECH, you'll find out the dark secret of "The Tool Shed," and will also experience the full-length ghost-novella, "Toll Booth." And finally, in MARTYRS & SACRIFICIAL LAMBS you'll experience hell on earth in "The Echo," and unwittingly release the darkest force of the forest in "The Falcon."With Dancing with Tombstones, the author of Alice Walks and The Sculptor deliciously thrusts us down the twisted avenues deep inside the haunt of our most secret repressions.

Dancing with Tombstones

Publications, Cemetery Dance

Cemetery Dance Publications

The Winslow Sisters

United States

Jonathan Martin Delaware Deseronto is a six-foot-five serial killer with a problem. He’s stuck out on I-476 in a heavy November rainstorm with two flat tires and the dead bodies of a cop and a co-ed named Marissa Madison in his trunk. Desperate to get off the highway, he drives his car on its back rims towards Exit 6. The car stalls on the ramp and Deseronto uses the last of its momentum to plunge over the crest of a steep slope and crash into a length of concrete pipe below. The car comes to rest on the edge of a construction site where machines are positioned to tear down an old Motel 6. For Deseronto, the worst is yet to come. Marissa Madison had been a psychic of sorts while alive, using her ability to assist people in their personal journeys. Now, the ghost of Marissa will utilize her strange gift, trapping Deseronto in the abandoned motel, and forcing him to live the last, fatal week of her own life as a passive passenger in her body . . . Soon, Deseronto will experience something truly horrific: the mind-numbing terror of being stalked by himself. Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.

Phantom Effect

Night Shade

The ghost story is perhaps the oldest form of weird literature, but today's ghosts, if they are to be convincing and compelling, must be active in ways that the more genteel ghosts of the of the past could not bring themselves to be. This is exactly the kind of ghost we find in Michael Aronovitz's hypnotic first novel.

Alice Walks

Centipede Press

"Travel into the heart of darkness, where sensuality and terror meet. Michael Aronovitz's literate, sophisticated style is redolent of Bradbury and Straub, his characters real and compelling. From taboo-breaking horror to mind-bending erotica, The Witch of the Wood has it all. You won't be able to put it down."-Tamara Thorne, author of Haunted and Bad Things"Aronovitz is a magician of words and his tales are seductive snares. He weaves atmosphere, intrigue, strong characters, and relentlessly gripping plot together for a delectably disturbing thrill-ride through the darkest corners of the human imagination. The Witch of the Wood is one hell of a show."-Alistair Cross, author of The Ghosts of RavencrestRudy Barnes, an adjunct professor no longer young, thinks he is attending a routine faculty meeting when he is struck by the beautiful April Orr, an administrator who is giving a presentation at the meeting. He is even more amazed when, after the meeting, he finds himself going with April to her house and having an intense sexual encounter with her.This is the beginning of a bizarre supernatural adventure in which April, a "witch of the wood," explains to Rudy the true origin of the female of the species. Rudy must now team up with Wolfie, the child he bore from April, and his ex-wife, Pat, to battle cosmic forces who are seeking to destroy the witches and bring about a universal cataclysm.In this gripping novel, Michael Aronovitz displays the crisp and riveting prose, the careful delineation of character, and the powerful horrific effects that have enlivened his previous novels and tales. In addition, he provides a thought-provoking mythic background to an epic struggle of good and evil.Michael Aronovitz is the author of the acclaimed short story collections Seven Deadly Pleasures (Hippocampus Press, 2009) and The Voices in Our Heads (2013), as well as the novel Alice Walks (2013).

The Witch of the Wood

"The&nbsp;Sculptor&nbsp;is one of the most grimly terrifying serial killers in recent literature."--Horror scholar and editor ST Joshi At age seven, Michael Leonard Robinson commits his first murder, turning tragedy into an aesthetic. By the time he turns eighteen, he has become an expert with computers, gaming systems, and the art of video imaging. And now in his forties, fully realized, he has long erased his digital footprint. He is thirty years ahead of our most advanced scientists, military ops tacticians, and elite information tech specialists. He is a master of disguise. He can invent projected realities. Of course, Michael Leonard Robinson could work his dark vision on a global scale, yet he doesn't need "the world" for a fetishistic thrill, just a police captain, his receptionist, a detective, a rookie junior officer, his sister and mother, and a lot of dark theater.&nbsp; Robinson appears to these characters&nbsp;in disguise, film clips, and flashes as he torments them. Their multiple viewpoints are puzzle pieces. When they fuse to finish the puzzle, the final sculpture becomes clear.

The Sculptor: A Novel

Castle of Horror Anthology Volume 4: Women Running from Houses

Henderson, Jason

Hieber, Leanna Renee

DeWees, Amanda

Towns, Jim

Nisbet, Rob

Rutledge, Charles R.

Stufflebeam, Bonnie Jo

Cook, Jeremiah Dylan

Ohno, John

Independently published

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