Title: All in Fear: A Collection of Six Horror Tales
ISBN
(ebook): 978-0-9972311-1-3
Genre: Horror/Romance
Authors:
Steve Berman, KJ Charles, Avon Gale, Roan Parrish,
Kris Ripper, J.A. Rock
Original
Release Date: 12/1/16
Available
on: All Major Retailers
Order link, epub and mobi (publisher’s page): http://openinkpress.com/product/all-in-fear-a-queer-horror-anthology/
Order link, Amazon:
Order link, ePub: https://www.books2read.com/u/bpGyDl
Sales Blitz Info: All in Fear will be on sale for
99 cents on all platforms from 10/25 - 10/31 to celebrate Halloween.
All in Fear: A Collection of Six Horror Tales
Horror
wears many faces, and its masks can be tantalizing. Some of the top names in
queer fiction come together to spin their own versions of horror. Worlds rife
with dark beauty and mystery, the familiar becoming terrible, creatures
ethereal and alluring—and all bearing the gleam of love. Does hope lie along
these grim passages or only doom? It will become clear. All in time—and all in
fear.
Nick
Levy’s family is falling apart and he has no friends, but at least he can
escape into the world of his favorite comic book series, The Face of the Vampire. Naturally, when the vampire in question
shows up one day, Nick is enthralled. After all, what could be better than his
own personal fantasy made real? Except that Nick isn’t exactly sure whether
Michel is real or not. And when the arrival of a new boy in school promises
romance, Nick sees a side of Michel he never could have imagined. This Michel is
cruel, jealous . . . and he’ll do anything to keep Nick for himself.
Palmer's life is as good as it gets. Well, okay, so he
hates his mind-numbing office job. But he's found a hot, smart, incredibly
kinky guy. The sex is explosive. The power play is off the hook. And if he
gets his way, Jon will soon be his husband.
When Palmer asks, Jon says yes. For the first time ever,
Palmer thinks things might be really good. Sure, bad things happen in the world—to other people. But this is all he needs:
Jon at the end of the day, in their bed, arms around him.
How could he have possibly been so stupid?
Johanna Oakley will do anything to save
her beloved Arabella from the cruelty of Mr Fogg’s madhouse—but ‘anything’
turns out to be more than she bargained for when she finds herself working for
a man suspected of worse than murder. As Johanna is plunged from the horror of
Sawney Reynard’s barber shop into the foul, lawless labyrinth at the heart of
London, can she or anyone get out alive?
Joining Zeta Psi isn’t Steve’s dream,
it’s his dad’s. Nevertheless his dad’s gift of the mysterious Bailey flask gets
Steve an in to the frat house, and maybe his best shot at being accepted on
campus. But the flask’s silver sheen may only be lighting his way into the
darkness at the heart of the frat—and the darkness he’s learning is within
himself. Steve wants to choose who he is, but choices are dropping like flies
as he learns the true mystery of the Bailey flask. How does he give back a gift
that’s also a curse?
STAFF
SERGEANT JASON ESSEX, YOU HAVE RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING ORDERS FROM THE UNITED
STATES MARINE CORPS:
REPORT
TO: CAIN INSTITUTE [ADDRESS REDACTED]
ACTIVE
DUTY COMMITMENT: GUARD AN ENTITY CURRENTLY HELD IN AN ENCLOSURE AT THE CAIN
INSTITUTE. RECORD DAILY MEASUREMENTS. KEEP ANY AND ALL PERSONS FROM ENTERING OR
LEAVING THE FACILITY. ENSURE THE ENTITY REMAINS COMPLETELY INCARCERATED. OBSERVE THE ENTITY WITHOUT ENGAGING.
When
Dr. Lester Usole attends an event at AI developer Carnificiality, he’s
introduced to Beauties: artificial beings designed to provide tailored sexual
experiences for their human owners. Lester isn’t interested in sex—but he is
fascinated by Ira, a Beauty too violent to be sold.
Lester
convinces Carnificiality to give Ira to him. Lester has always wanted the
chance to work with an adult AI, and around Lester, Ira isn’t violent. He’s
strangely innocent, uncannily perceptive, and his company does much to ease
Lester’s loneliness. Except something’s not quite right: Ira roams at night,
even when Lester’s sure he’s locked Ira’s door.
Soon
Lester is certain of only one thing: Ira has a secret. Something that will link
their pasts and change the course of their future—if Lester is willing to face
what’s on the inside.
Excerpts and Reviews:
Excerpt from Company
by Roan Parrish:
"Hello, Nicholas," he said. How the
hell did he know my name? I ran through many possible responses and settled,
naturally, on the worst one.
"Did
my mom send you after me?" I asked, like a total loser.
Michel
didn't respond, just cocked his head as if to say, "I am a beautiful and otherworldly creature. Where I come from there is
no such thing as mothers."
"Are
you real?" I asked then, congratulating myself on a slightly more pressing
and practical question.
"Of
course," he said.
He
was just how I’d imagined him: graceful, and beautiful, and so, so lonely. I
realized that I had returned his handshake without thinking and was now just
standing there, holding his hand and staring like an idiot. At this thought,
Michel smiled kindly, and lifted my hand to his lips in a soft, gentlemanly
kiss. I'm not proud of it, but it was my first kiss, and even though it was
just on my hand, I felt it everywhere.
Reviewed by E.Lo the Book Ho
Ya know how we all say “Oh how I wish my favorite book boyfriend was real!”. Ya...nope, not dropping that phrase anymore. This short story kinda freaked me out to be honest.
After some life changes in young Nick’s life he finds himself obsessed with a vampire series that started as just watching the movie and then, not getting enough of it, he buys all the comic books and immerses himself in them. His favorite character, one that he kinda develops a crush on, Michael is one day standing in front of him...or so it seems. He is visited quite often by the vampire, they seem to start off kinda sweet in a strange way then they turn a little creepy. Of course this seems like all part of a teenage imagination gone a little overboard until Nick finds himself in love with a boy in his class, then things getting a little freaky.
Has Nick lost his mind, or has he been getting the visits we have all wished for?
I give this book 3.5 freaked-the-hell-out stars.
Excerpt from Love
Me True by Kris Ripper:
“Truth or dare, Palmer.” He lay back against the pillows of our bed,
still idly playing with the band of his shorts.
“Does this game really work if we already know everything about each
other?”
He grinned. “You think we know everything about each other?”
“Oh, come on.” I poked him in the chest. “Do you really have secrets
from me, mister?”
“Maybe one or two things that haven’t exactly come up yet.” The grin
turned into a smirk. “I don’t tell you everything
I think about, Palmer. Aren’t secrets
supposed to keep things interesting in a couple?”
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t think we need any help keeping things
interesting. Plus, I want to know everything about you. Don’t you want to know
everything about me?”
“Uh huh. I really do. So: truth or dare?”
“Truth.”
“Okay. How about . . . when did you know you were in love with me?”
Reviewed by Stephanie:
3*
This story was pretty intriguing. I'm not sure how I would feel if that big of a secret was kept from me, or how I wouldn't have figured it out. I think I'd feel like the world's biggest dumb-ass. I actually feel really bad for Palmer. He was legit in love and maybe that's what blinded him to everything?
That being said, one thing to watch out for is the overuse of the word "like". It was used so much it was actually distracting and took away from the story. I had to skip parts to get through all the "likes". It was too unbelievable, I don't think grown men would over phrase that word.
Excerpt from The
Price of Meat by KJ Charles:
The doctor grasped her arm.
Johanna stamped on his instep with everything she had, wrenched her arm free,
and fled out of the terrible room, running for the stairs. Reynard gave a roar
that might have been amusement or rage, and at the cry his men rose from the
shadows with leering grins and stretching arms. Two moved to the base of the
stairs. Johanna changed direction and fled for the other door, driven by the
instinct of the hunted fox to seek any hole, and this time, nobody got in her
way. She pulled it open, hurtled in, batted aside something heavy and cold that
swung from the ceiling—
One of dozens of things,
hanging from great hooks, cold and pale and heavy in the dim light from the
door, white bone-ends showing where the inedible parts had been trimmed
off. It was a meat store, full of
carcasses. The one she’d shoved swung back at her and on its side, like a
cattle brand, Johanna saw an anchor-shaped tattoo.
A shadow fell over her.
Reynard, with ragged, grinning men at his side, loomed in the doorway.
“Not a bad idea, Miss
Oakley. We leave meat here to tenderise, and this should soften you up nicely.
A couple of hours should make you more obliging, don’t you think? I’ve got to
gather the Freemen for a meeting, but I daresay we can let you out once I’m
done, if you ask nice enough.”
He stepped back and shut the
door. It slammed on her like the thud of a coffin lid; the bolt scraped on the
outside; she was alone in the dark. She hammered on its unyielding surface with
her fists, begging and weeping and screaming for release from this dreadful
larder, while behind her the dead men creaked and swayed on their hooks,
quietly, gently decaying in the dark.
Reviewed by: Stephanie GooglyeEyes
Reviewed by: Stephanie GooglyeEyes
| 3.5* This was a nice (I use that term VERY loosely) short story for the season of haunting. A historical work of fiction that is based around Sweeney Todd and Fleet St. Of course this occurs after the cannibalistic barber, as there is a play on the name. There are also some added features such as the free, lawless land of Alstasia (thats not so free) and a scientist working on "special" surgeries. The story starts at the Asylum for the Weak Minded which I believe is a front to the Freemen of Alstasia. One brave woman decides she'll do anything to save her beloved who is locked up in the Asylum. She takes the word of a "deranged" boy to the magistrate and from here takes matters into her own hands by going undercover in the peculiar barbershop. No, there's no meat pies sold on the streets like in Sweeney Todd. This particular case is to control the so-called Free men in Alastria. You have the food, you have the power. Either you eat their meat or you risk trying to go back into normal society. It's all very creepy and thrilling. A non-stop read if you can stomach it! |
Excerpt from His Mouth Will Taste
of Chernobyl by Steve Berman:
As I push open the
trapdoor at the top of the ladder, a moist, thick heat trapped within the attic
overruns me. The
outside daylight seeps through the oddly peaked roof, enough that I can find
the dangling cord of a single bare bulb. One pull and I see the attic is really
an unfinished elevated crawl space. By the time I worm off the last rung and
onto the floor beams, my face feels like a windshield in the rain.
Carl climbs after me. The brothers ordered me
to retrieve last year’s Halloween decorations, but Carl volunteered to help. I
almost wish he hadn’t because there’s not enough room in the attic for the two
of us to move about comfortably. He ends up on his hands and knees beside me.
The cardboard boxes
I brush with one hand are mottled with mold and coated with dust. I reach
blindly into one box and pull out a cheap plastic devil mask, the scarlet
streaked with thick crud.
“I hate Halloween,”
Carl says. His pained face is inches away from my shoulder. Dark crescents
bloom under his neck, his armpits.
“No one hates
Halloween. There’s all you can eat candy. Free candy.”
He shakes his head
like a thick-coated dog after a bath and the sweat flies in droplets. “My folks
celebrated the ‘harvest’—”
I hold the devil
mask in front of my face. The bits of Carl I see through the cut-out eyes look
miserable. “That sounds spookier—”
“It’s just
pathetic.” Carl reaches out and lifts the mask off me. “I was . . . quieter
before I came here.”
Reviewed by E.Lo the Book Ho
Steve, “Sippy”, is a pledge of the Zeta Psi fraternity at Tulane University in New Orleans. He is a mouthy little pledge that is only there to please his father. Upon his high school graduation he is given a flask by his father. This is no ordinary flask, it never runs empty, it always has just what the person holding the flask wants, and it also has people wanting to be with Steve. It seems that the magic little flask has gotten him in a bit of trouble, and maybe even found him some happiness.
I really enjoyed this story. It had just the right amount of mystery, angst and even a little gore. But I really wish there was more!!! I need to know more about this magic flask, and I really need to know what’s in the damn elephant!!!!
I give this book 4.5 magic flask stars!
Excerpt from Legion:
A Love Story by Avon Gale:
Personal Journal
Today
I asked Cain if demons really did eat human souls. I expected him to tell me
that wasn’t true (they don’t live in a lake of fire, either) but . . . well.
Apparently that part of demon-lore is true.
“When I’ve broken these bonds of magic and
found those who summoned me, Jason, I’m going to feast on their souls so slowly
they will die a thousand deaths before I swallow them.”
That
probably should have put an end to my thoughts about getting him out of there,
but honestly . . . could I really blame him? If I were kidnapped and put into a
cage, experimented on and held against my will, I’d be pretty pissed and
looking for revenge, too. Definitely.
“Do
you need souls to survive? Like food?” I asked. Because there’s only one human
here at the moment. Freeing Cain doesn’t mean I have to be his lunch. At least,
I hope it doesn’t mean that.
Reviewed by Stephanie:
I'm not going to lie, I'm not exactly sure what I just read LOL. All I know is it was a mind fuck and kind of hot in a very morbid way. Thank you, Avon, for making something so wrong feel so right. And also for making me think differently about demons 😂
When you think of the word legion, you think of a large army or vast quantities of something. In this case, I think it means host. Or maybe the many forms Cain can take.
Going on this journey in Jason's POV (and not knowing what we're getting into) was very intense. I loved all the emails and recordings and the crazy nightmares, and the "erotic" ones as well. It was super intense. Seeing that it is "A Love Story" really makes you wonder....was it? or was it mind manipulation?
Reviewed by Stephanie:
I'm not going to lie, I'm not exactly sure what I just read LOL. All I know is it was a mind fuck and kind of hot in a very morbid way. Thank you, Avon, for making something so wrong feel so right. And also for making me think differently about demons 😂
When you think of the word legion, you think of a large army or vast quantities of something. In this case, I think it means host. Or maybe the many forms Cain can take.
Going on this journey in Jason's POV (and not knowing what we're getting into) was very intense. I loved all the emails and recordings and the crazy nightmares, and the "erotic" ones as well. It was super intense. Seeing that it is "A Love Story" really makes you wonder....was it? or was it mind manipulation?
Excerpt from Beauties
by J.A. Rock:
Lester
turned in time to see Ira pinch each end of the worm and pull it in half.
“Ira!
What are you doing?”
Ira
held the two halves up, each one still wriggling. “I want to see what’s on the
inside.”
“But
that kills the worm. Don’t you know that?”
Ira
frowned at the dark half. “It wipes the worm?”
A
sharp pain pulsed behind Lester’s right temple. It’s just a worm. Just a worm. It was startling, to see something come
apart like that, is all. “It kills
the worm,” Lester repeated.
“It
doesn’t,” Ira said steadily. “Both halves can live on and become new worms.”
The halves curled around Ira’s thumbs in perfect synchronicity, as though Ira
had commanded them. “I just wanted to see what was on the inside. Lester.”
Lester
didn’t answer. He studied the dark red clots at each end of the severed worm,
unable, for a moment, to move.
A pale
mass trailing wires like jellyfish tentacles. Lips moving. No screams. The
long, spindly appendages of a cancer cell. Shaking in a white hospital bed.
Lips moving. Last words. You had to take things apart to make them whole. That
was how ABs had been created—by dissecting the human body until it was nothing.
By building its echo.
Ira
tossed the worm halves aside. “They have nothing on the inside.”
Reviewed by: Stephanie GooglyEyes
4*
Well that ending is definitely NOT what I expected!
This story is about a group of scientists that create infant artificial beings. They have an "elastic" brain that allows them to grow and shape themselves almost as a human baby brain would. Sometimes they send the brain off to another Dept to be put into a toddler body, so on and so forth. Other brains they take back to dissect to see how it's growing and all the new paths created, etc...
The flip to this, the partners of the original creation broke off and one started Carnificiality, aimed towards personal pleasure. Mainly they create bots for different sexual experiences.
Well, they somehow ended up with a brain that was unlike any they had before. Whether they really knew where it came from, or if it was just information they didn't want to give out is unclear. But Lester can't seem to not be intrigued by this AB while on a tour of this particular lab, that he ends up buying Ian.
Ian is kind of a mystery. You can't tell if he's lying, there's things that he says that are very familiar, and there's just something "off" about him. But like Les, you're just as curious and can't stop reading.
We learn about this ever elusive "Aaron" and the mystery of the frog fountain. But it's also so much more. There's a LOT packed into this short story. The characters, the world, I all very well written. Once you start you're not going out want to stop.
Reviewed by: Stephanie GooglyEyes
4*
Well that ending is definitely NOT what I expected!
This story is about a group of scientists that create infant artificial beings. They have an "elastic" brain that allows them to grow and shape themselves almost as a human baby brain would. Sometimes they send the brain off to another Dept to be put into a toddler body, so on and so forth. Other brains they take back to dissect to see how it's growing and all the new paths created, etc...
The flip to this, the partners of the original creation broke off and one started Carnificiality, aimed towards personal pleasure. Mainly they create bots for different sexual experiences.
Well, they somehow ended up with a brain that was unlike any they had before. Whether they really knew where it came from, or if it was just information they didn't want to give out is unclear. But Lester can't seem to not be intrigued by this AB while on a tour of this particular lab, that he ends up buying Ian.
Ian is kind of a mystery. You can't tell if he's lying, there's things that he says that are very familiar, and there's just something "off" about him. But like Les, you're just as curious and can't stop reading.
We learn about this ever elusive "Aaron" and the mystery of the frog fountain. But it's also so much more. There's a LOT packed into this short story. The characters, the world, I all very well written. Once you start you're not going out want to stop.
About the Authors:
Steve Berman
Steve Berman loves
to tell stories that are both queer and weird. He was a Zeta Psi back in his
college days at and remembers being hazed. He survived and graduated and even
earned a Masters Degree in Liberal Studies. He has written and sold over a
hundred articles, essays, and short stories. His YA novel, Vintage, was a
finalist for the Andre Norton Award.
Website: www.steveberman.com
KJ Charles
KJ Charles is a
writer and freelance editor. She lives in London with her husband, two kids,
and a cat with murder management issues. KJ writes mostly historical romance,
mostly queer, often with fantasy or horror in there.
Find her on Twitter @kj_charles, pick up book info
and free reads on her website at kjcharleswriter.com, get the infrequent
newsletter at kjcharleswriter.com/newsletter, or join her Facebook group, KJ Charles Chat, for sneak peeks
and exclusives.
Avon Gale
Avon Gale wrote her
first story at the age of seven, about a “Space Hat” hanging on a rack and
waiting for that special person to come along and purchase it — even if it was
a bit weirder than the other, more normal hats. Like all of Avon’s characters,
the space hat did get its happily ever after — though she’s pretty sure it was
with a unicorn. She likes to think her vocabulary has improved since then, but
the theme of quirky people waiting for their perfect match is still one of her
favorites.
Avon grew up in the
southern United States, and now lives with her very patient husband in a
liberal midwestern college town. When she’s not writing, she’s either doing
some kind of craft project that makes a huge mess, reading, watching horror
movies, listening to music or yelling at her favorite hockey team to get it
together, already. Avon is always up for a road trip, adores Kentucky bourbon,
thinks nothing is as stress relieving as a good rock concert and will never say
no to candy.
At one point, Avon
was the mayor of both Jazzercise and Lollicup on Foursquare. This tells you
basically all you need to know about her as a person.
Connect with Avon:
Website: www.avongalewrites.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/avongalewrites
Twitter: @avongalewrites
Sign up for Avon’s
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bOXXp9
Roan
Parrish
Roan Parrish lives in Philadelphia where she is gradually attempting to write love stories in every genre.
When not writing, she can usually be found cutting her friends’ hair, meandering through whatever city she’s in while listening to torch songs and melodic death metal, or cooking overly elaborate meals. She loves bonfires, winter beaches, minor chord harmonies, and self-tattooing. One time she may or may not have baked a six-layer chocolate cake and then thrown it out the window in a fit of pique.
Sign up for her Newsletter to receive updates about new releases, works-in-progress, and bonus materials like sneak peeks and extra scenes! http://bit.ly/2xHGvBj
Website: www.roanparrish.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/roanparrish
Twitter: @RoanParrish
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/ARoanParrish
Instagram: www.instagram.com/roanparrish
Kris
Ripper
Kris Ripper lives in
the great state of California and hails from the San Francisco Bay Area. Kris
shares a converted garage with a little kid, can do two pull-ups in a row, and
can write backwards. (No, really.) Kris is genderqueer and prefers the z-based
pronouns because they’re freaking sweet. Ze has been writing fiction since ze
learned how to write, and boring zir stuffed animals with stories long before that.
Links:
The site: krisripper.com
Links:
The site: krisripper.com
The Facebook group:
Ripper's Irregulars: https://www.facebook.com/groups/405062456366636/
The Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/SmutTasticKris
The Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/SmutTasticKris
J.A. Rock
J.A. Rock is the
author or coauthor of over twenty LGBTQ romance, suspense, and horror novels,
as well as an occasional contributor to HuffPo Queer Voices. J.A. has received
Lambda Literary and INDIEFAB Award nominations for Minotaur, and The Subs Club received
the 2016 National Leather Association-International Pauline Reage
Novel Award. J.A. lives in Chicago with an extremely judgmental dog, Professor
Anne Studebaker.
Website:
www.jarockauthor.com
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/jarockauthor
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/ja.rock.39
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