<h3>For the last twenty years, Annette Chambers has been haunted by the same recurring nightmare of her beloved twin sister's death.</h3> When a cryptic stranger warns Annette that she is in danger of being murdered -- just like her sister -- by an ancient evil that dwells between dreams and reality, Annette initially dismisses the idea until she is attacked in her sleep by an unseen entity. Annette soon learns what she experienced is known throughout history as Old Hag Syndrome, a horrifying affliction that causes victims to awake, paralyzed, unable to scream while they are tormented by hallucinations. <h4>Soon Annette realizes the Old Hag she faces is real and has been killing off her friends and family. Her nightmare becomes a frightening reality where the only hope of survival lies somewhere between death and madness.</h4> Fans of classic horror novels like The Exorcist and The Omen will feel that familiar chill within the pages of Old Hag Syndrome by Tim Dankanich. <h4>Buy now and download a free Kindle book with paperback purchase via KindleMatchbook!</h4>

Old Hag Syndrome

Literature & Fiction

Dankanich, Tim

Genre Fiction

Dark Alley Press

My name is Curtis Price. Until my extraordinary death, I lived an ordinary life in the poor side of town in Osprey Falls, Maine, with my mother and older sister. I am the boy that nobody sees, ignored in the shadows of the hallway. I am the kid that is picked last in gym. I am the student that is never called on in class to answer the question, and, after a while, I stop bothering to raise my hand. 
 It is not until my stepfather shoots me that I am finally—finally—noticed. 
 Advanced Praise for Ordinary Boy: 
 “Ordinary Boy offers an insightful view into the life of a boy growing up under extraordinary circumstances. Its youthful optimism balances the harsh realities of a family’s survival in a tale that is bravely human, heartwarming, and devastating.” — Ursula Wong author of Purple Trees 
 “In Ordinary Boy, Stacey Longo creates poignancy and meaning out of all the pangs of youth, the horrors and minor joys. With deft touches, she portrays a struggle that pulls us into the story. An excellent and absorbing tale of growing up without special privileges or abilities, just a daily striving against a lousy hand that fate has dealt.” ~ Dale T. Phillips, author of the Zack Taylor mysteries 
 “Ordinary Boy sounds the depths of youth, adolescence, and young adulthood in a voice at once deft and ghostly and heartbreaking. Huck Finn, Nick Adams, Holden Caulfield—they all would’ve ‘got’ Curtis Price perfectly.” ~ David Daniel, author of Reunion and White Rabbit

Ordinary Boy

Longo, Stacey

Contemporary

“There are some people that walk around on two feet and others like me that run on all four.” To most people, that’s a bold statement. I just wish I’d been the one to say it, but I wasn’t. In fact, until a few days ago, I wasn’t even sure what it meant. Either you’re the type of person who lives within a set of boundaries or the type who knows none. 
But life is never that simple, is it? No, I’d say that the most important insights about who we are, what we say, and why we do things are not always the obvious ones. Instead, they’re discovered on the streets of your hometown, revealed late at night in a dark backroom, or sometimes forced upon you at knifepoint where your only choices for survival are between bad and worse. In The Art of Raising Hell, Newbie Johnson has recently moved to Bunsen Creek, Illinois, when his mother is killed in a tragic car crash. His father does his best to maintain a normal household, but his broken heart is just not up to the task. Newbie finds solace by hanging out with his three buddies in their clandestine Backroom hideout. Getting into mischief becomes their favorite pastime as they try to follow in the footsteps of Lonny Nack, who has perfected the art of running on all four. Lonny fears no one, including The Law, and soon takes his peculiar sense of justice, along with his love of practical jokes, to new heights while entertaining the colorful characters of Kickapoo County. “Running on all four” takes on a new meaning for Newbie when he finds his inner voice and begins to understand the difference between chasing life and being chased by it. Get a free instant Kindle book with paperback purchase via Kindle Matchbook! Praise for The Art of Raising Hell “Filled with surprises and moments, good and bad, that capture a moving tale about being young, growing up, and learning some of the harder lessons in life.” ~ Lost in a Good Book Reviews ”The Art of Raising Hell is our generation’s Catcher In The Rye: a tender, yet compelling, coming-of-age tale that reminds its audience of the difference between life and living.” ~ Laura Valvasori, The San Francisco Book Review

The Art of Raising Hell

Lopinski, Thomas

Dramas & Plays

"You won’t want to put it down — and you probably won’t either until there are no more pages to turn." ~ Thomas E. Kennedy, author of In the Company of Angels, Falling Sideways, and Kerrigan in Copenhagen "A dark fantasy bildungsroman in the tradition of Stephen King’s It and Robert McCammon’s Boy’s Life" 
In the late 1970s, Joe Godwin was just twelve years old, living in a working-class neighborhood. Plagued by bullies and a volatile home life, Joe spends his time with his three friends in search of adventure. The discovery of an abandoned mansion during a simple camping trip in a state forest sets of a series of consequences in motion between the boys, inhabitants of the mansion, and the others who occupy the garden behind the colossal home. The Garden of Fragile Things is a literary dark tale that chronicles four boys’ coming of age against paranormal forces that operate between two worlds. “From the first paragraphs, The Garden of Fragile Things holds you in its charm. Anyone who is young, anyone who can or wants to remember the mystery, enchantment, and fragility of youth will enjoy the rich mystery of O’Brien’s Garden of Fragile Things.” ~ Thomas E. Kennedy, author of In the Company of Angels, Falling Sideways, and Kerrigan in Copenhagen(A New York Times Notable Book). Buy now and get a free Kindle book with paperback via Kindle Matchbook!

The Garden of Fragile Things

O'Brien, Richard J.

<h3>Death. A permanent end. Termination of life.</h3> Some embrace death as if reuniting with a long-missing old friend. Others fear it, try to outwit it, hide from it. And then there are those who are fascinated by it, mesmerized by it, chasing it down, taunting it, challenging it. In Ink Stains, Volume 1, eight authors explore death in all its facets in a collection of short stories that range from fantastical to gritty to supernaturally creepy. Join them in a journey through the darker side of fiction. Ink Stains, Volume 1 features stories by Michelle K. Bujnowski, Eddie Cantrell, John S. McFarland, Steph Minns, A. O'Neal Tamela J. Ritter, Aaron Vlek, and J. S. Watts.

Ink Stains: A Dark Fiction Literary Anthology

Vlek, Aaron

McFarland, John S.

Ritter, Tamela J.

Watts, J. S.

Minns, Steph

Cantrell, Eddie

Bujnowski, Michelle K

O'Neal, A.

Short Stories & Anthologies

Trust. Sometimes it is freely given. Other times it is hard-earned. Either way, it’s is a fragile thing. Give it to the wrong person, and it just might cost your life. The second volume of Ink Stains literary anthology series explores the complexity of placing your trust in another person and what can happen when that trust is betrayed. Join authors Brian Becker, Cooper O'Connor, Marc E. Fitch, I. K. Paterson-Harkness, Daniel Henshaw, J.D. Kotzman, Melanie Marshall, and Douglas Andrew Smith as they deftly delve deep into the dark side of betrayal in a collection of literary tales. From random encounters with strangers in the night to lovers turned enemies, from “I swear I didn’t know!” to “Who’s laughing now?” our authors dissect reasons betrayal is inevitable, no matter what the relationship, and the sometimes fatal consequences of such actions. Ink Stains, a quarterly anthology published by Dark Alley Press, features gritty fiction. We are about shining a stark light on the shadows of life, exploring those dimly lit corridors, and unearthing those long-buried secrets. We are about examining the human existence and the human psyche in its raw, delicate and dangerous state. We don’t shy away from controversy, nor do we believe good will always triumph over evil or that someone will always be around to save the day. Sometimes all we have is ourselves. And the stories that keep us turning the page.

Ink Stains: A Literary Fiction Anthology

Becker, Brian

Henshaw, Daniel

Morges, N. Apythia

O'Connor, Cooper

Fitch, Marc E.

Marshall, Melanie

Paterson-Harkness, I. K.

Kotzman, J. D.

Smith, Douglas Andrew

The past has a horrible habit of haunting us all. Sometimes it surfaces in regret and a lifetime of what ifs. Sometimes, it is horrors made real in other-worldly beings hell-bent on revenge for wrong-doings. Join authors Diane Arrelle, Marc E. Fitch, Andrea Hansell, Ann Liska, Derek Muk, Olga Munroe, Clint Orr, Terry Sanville, Kristi Petersen Schoonover, and K.W. Taylor as they explore the darkest deeds that keep us up at night, the past that cannot be undone, and the heavy chains these ghosts trap us in. This collection of literary tales gives life to ghosts, both real and imaginary, and all the sins of the past that haunt us in the present. From grieving, betrayed lovers to guilt-born demons, those that haunt the characters in these stories crafted by our authors bring pain, heartache, stunning revelations, and a stark reminder that the past will never die.

Ink Stains

Arrelle, Diane

Schoonover, Kristi Petersen

Taylor, K.W.

Muk, Derek

Orr, Clint

Hansell, Andrea

Liska, Ann

Sanville, Terry

Munroe, Olga

Relationships are complicated at best. Some are beautiful, some are beautiful disasters, and some are just deadly. This edition of Ink Stains explores some of the most fantastic, frightening, and fascinating dysfunctional relationships ever put down on ink, be it with a parent, a friend, a would-be lover, or Kurt Cobain. Authors Clay McLeod Chapman, Mario E. Martinez, Matt Meyer, Ted Myers, Adam Michael Nicks, Jay Outhier, Doug Russell, Ryanne Strong, Bobbi Thomas, Lynden Wade, Kathleen Wolak, and Todd Zack give us a look at interactions between people behind closed doors and in the dark corners of their minds where dangerous, delirious thoughts sometimes turn into actions. Ink Stains, a quarterly anthology published by Dark Alley Press, is about shining a stark light on the shadows of life, exploring those dimly lit corridors, and unearthing those long-buried secrets. We don’t believe good will always triumph over evil or that someone will always be around to save the day. Sometimes all we have is ourselves. And the stories that keep us turning the page.

Ink Stains, Volume 9

McLeod Chapman, Clay

Martinez, Mario E.

Meyer, Matt

Wade, Lynden

Thomas, Bobbi

Wolak, Kathleen

Zack, Todd

Myers, Ted

Nicks, Adam Michael

Death. Murder. Betrayal. An inevitable undoing. The selfish and terrible actions of humans rarely go unpunished in a world where Fate is a cruel mistress and Karma can be a more vengeful than a woman scorned. Hell is real, and it exists here on Earth as several characters in the stories contained within can attest as they face war, jealousy, domestic violence, and supernatural forces. Some face Hell on a literal level as others discover it is one of their own making. None were prepared for the reality of their consequences.Authors Michael Barron, Eric M. Battaglia, Eddie Cantrell, Michael R. Collins, Patrick Hackeling, Matthew Lett, J.A.W. McCarthy, Karen Metcalf, Ben Nein, Liam Quinn, RL Schumacher, Cales Stephens, C.J. Thomson, Jackie Valacich, and J.S. Watts weave together dark tales that question how far one is willing to push to get what they desire and explore the consequences of those more interested in themselves than their fellow men and women.

Barron, Michael

Lett, Matthew

McCarthy, J a W

Metcalf, Karen

Battaglia, Eric M.

Collin, Michael R.

Hackeling, Patrick

Nein, Ben

Ink Stains, Volume 13: A Dark Fiction Literary Anthology

Feldman, Arlen

Blake, Benjamin

Dalpe, Victoria

Mendenhall, Robert J.

Nichols, Matthew

Derosby, Alan

Adcock, Han

Harper, Juliet

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