So... who here likes Creepypastas?  Who likes high fantasy stories?  Well today we've got something inspired by both!  From my book, Freaky and Fantastical 500 Words or Less, this time we will be looking at the stories "Shadow Eater" and "What Evil Consumes".

"Shadow Eater" is about a man who becomes haunted by a demon from his past... literally.  Everyone who was alive in the 90's and prior knows the story of Bloody Mary and the game where you are shut in a bathroom with the lights out and must repeat her name several times in front of the mirror.  This story is my own version of that.  It is said that kids and animals are most sensitive to spirits, so what if the thing that has stalked you since your childhood fed on your essence for decades without your knowledge and what if your own children are affected by its presence?

"What Evil Consumes" is a fantasy story about a famous mercenary with a code who uses magical items and parts procured from monsters to neutralize threats.  Think the Equalizer but with a fantasy spin.  That's probably the simplest way to summarize this story (laughing), so you're welcome!

That knocks out two more days and two more stories.  Pick up Freaky and Fantastical 500 Words or Less today for just $1.99, please leave a review for me on Amazon, and tell your friends.  Check back here soon.  There is more to come!

Today from my anthology, Freaky and Fantastical 500 Words or Less, I am taking a look at two cautionary tales regarding the rise of technology.  I actually have a couple of stories in this book about the possible ways machines could evolve to either be our masters, lovers, or benefactors.

In the story, "Human-ish Emotions", an android child programmed to develop emotions as her artificial intelligence evolves, is allowed to attend a human school, where some of the staff are also androids.  As we all know, as children we don't have the greatest emotional intelligence or consideration of others, so imagine being a "person" with less than five years of human interaction and learning to cope with new emotions in a foreign environment for the first time.  Also, imagine seeing others who look like you being mistreated in this foreign environment while you too must deal with similar adversity.  How would you react?  How do you think a child made of metal would respond?  

The second story is titled "Guns Don't Kill People..." which narrates a particular incident with "smart weapons" and poses a question about gun control.  It is a short narrative meant to be left to the reader to answer, what should be done and what is the worst case scenario to each solution? 

It's pretty scary to think where machines and artificial intelligence could be in just a decade, and from personal experiences, I'm convinced most machines already hate me...  But that's all for now.  Short and sweet, as usual, just like every story you will find in my book, Freaky and Fantastical 500 Words or Less, available now on Amazon.  We are at least a quarter of the way through the 99-day journey now, so if you haven't got your copy and you're tired of just reading my ramblings, go ahead and get the book already!  The stories are probably shorter and definitely much more entertaining that what you'll read here about them.  If you need more teases and random thoughts from me, be sure to visit soon, because there is always more to come!  

We are now in the 23rd day of the freaky and fantastic journey and this time the spotlight is on the story "Charlie's Sons".  This is another story told completely through dialogue from the point of view of the town gossip about a small town invaded by strange, otherworldly beings.  I'm not a fan of alien probe stories (not that this is one), but for this story I wanted to channel the character of the people commonly seen in the media who share such bizarre tales of their close encounters of the third kind.  These stories have the same kind of appeal as urban legends to me, especially among those fans of conspiracy theories.  There is always the lingering question among us about if there is life beyond the stars, has it already approached us, and what would happen if it did.  This story is a horror story version of that, which is what we would see in movies and often hear about (people who claim to have had encounters usually use the term "abducted" which is not a word associated with benevolent creatures), but the tone of the story is only lightened by the narrator.  Often, even when horrifying news is delivered to us, it really comes down to the credibility of the person presenting it.

That is all for today.  Check out "Charlie's Sons" in Freaky and Fantastical 500 Words or Less now and be on the look out for the next installment here as we continue the 99 day journey!

From my Freaky and Fantastical 500 Words or Less anthology I've got two more stories, "Christmas Warrior" and "For No Man's Eyes" to highlight as I catch up on my 99 day review of the book.  "Christmas Warrior" is a new perspective on the iconic legend of the Yuletide season, re-imagining him as not only a charitable supernatural gentleman, but also as a jolly collector of magical items in an attempt to explain some of his abilities.  The horror story "For No Man's Eyes" is another favorite of mine.  It is the story of an ambitious journalist who, in an effort to take his brand to the next level, journeys to a brothel to expose the truth behind a new myth circulating the internet, however what he finds is more than any man is meant to witness.  This story would probably be excellent as a first-person, Blair-Witch style movie (coming soon possibly) and is reminiscent of an episode of Tales from the Crypt.

That is all I want to say about these two stories or could say without spoiling them.  Summaries of super short stories have to be brief to leave something for the reader to discover, right?  Read these stories and 99 others in Freaky and Fantastical 500 Words or Less  today and check back because there is more to come!

Whoops! I missed a day but I will continue to only double up as needed, so let's jump into it.  Today I will be focusing on two of my favorite stories from Freaky and Fantastical 500 Words or Less, "The Tale of Noir" and "A Flower Beyond the Gravestone".  

"The Tale of Noir" is a narrative horror poem that tells of an urban legend originating from me.  Urban legends have a certain allure behind them because the mystery and the level of truth they bare can frighten us, especially when the stories are set so close to our own home.  Narrative poems, and even songs that tell us stories, also charm us in unique ways because beyond a good hook, a nice beat, and a few other words that get stuck in your memory, there is rhyme and reason.  This particular story deals with mad science, a motherless woman, and children being children,  and it may have taken place in your very own hometown for all we know...

"A Flower Beyond the Gravestone" is one of a few second-person POV stories in my anthology that is more of a love story with shades of horror and fantasy.  Inspired by stories of Greek mythology about people journeying into the underworld via the river Styx, as well as Dante's Inferno and other myths of heroes journeying into the realm of the dead for lost love, revelation and other reasons, I wrote this "instructional guide" to help others find their way.  One could choose to obey the instructions to return unscathed or remain in a state in between life and death, forgotten by the world...

That is all for now but there is always more to come!  Check out Freaky and Fantastical 500 Words or Less on Amazon and pick up your copy to read these and 97 other horror, fantasy, and sci-fi stories.

Welcome back to another short and sweet freaky and fantastical feature.  Today from my anthology I will highlight the story "Light-years for Love".  This story is a science fiction romance with a morbid twist.  When a  young bachelor takes a trip on an exploratory vessel to escape his humdrum life on Earth and discover himself, he finds something more on a planet inhabited by various alien races.  This is a story about finding love in unexpected places and also how love, or rather infatuation, can blind us.

Check out this story in Freaky and Fantastical 500 Words or Less today!

Good evening folks.  We are now in the 17th of the 99 freaky & fantastic days of promotions for my anthology Freaky and Fantastical 500 Words or Less.  Slow strides, but still progressing.  This time I will highlight my story "The Room", a story that has nothing to do with Tommy Wiseau or Brie Larson's famous movies.  This story is about recurring nightmares.  We all have dreams--some prophetic, some random, some fantastic, some horrible--but we may not understand the meaning or purpose of these movies we watch in our heads while unconscious.  Sometimes it is even those visions in the night that would ordinarily give you chills in your spine that may give you the greatest insight or clarity upon waking.  Sometimes it is our most confounding dream that may have the most implication to our real-world issues.  In this story, one man encounters a creepy monster that desires more than a hug from him in his recurring dream but the result of his encounter is very unexpected.  Check out the story in Freaky and Fantastical 500 Words or Less today and with 82 more days and 82 more stories to cover, just know there is more to come!

Today from Freaky and Fantastical 500 Words or Less I will be looking at the story "Stay in Touch", a ghost story within a love story.  This story is another experimental one, written solely in the form of a text message conversation.  Technology has a tendency to act up and identities can be stolen or property could be misplaced, but sometimes something supernatural could also be at work.  This story shows that death does not have to be the end for true love.

To read these texts between young lovers, check out the anthology on Amazon if you don't already own it.  That is all for now, and I will be sharing more soon!

Today from my Freaky and Fantastical 500 Words or Less anthology, I will take a look at my story "Family... Food?".  This is a first-person POV story told by a zombie.  The tone of the story is meant to be tinged with dark humor but the horror of the story comes from the irony of the main character's situation, from his transformation to into a member of the undead to his perception of others and his outlook on life.  Besides a book/movie like Warm Bodies it seems uncommon for a "zombie" to undergo any type of character arc in stories, even though the horror genre has been over-saturated with decaying, shuffling brain-eaters along with masked slashers and sexy bloodsuckers.  As a fan of shows/movies like The Walking Dead, I just don't tire of writing about walkers, but the fun of writing them into my own stories is finding a new way to share the narrative. 

That is all for now.  Please go to Amazon to pick up your copy of my ebook today and see if my zombie tale and 98 other stories resonate with your grey matter and visit again soon because there is more to come!

On this freaky and fantastic day, I want to spotlight my stories "Heavy Metal & Heinous Magic" and "Imaginary Friends".

"Heavy Metal & Heinous Magic" is a fantasy war story, and while this would be a typical hack-and-slash story, I do pose a question: How far would you go to win a war?  Heroes are people who  live and die for others, but when they do die for the sake of someone else or for a cause, how is their sacrifice honored?  If you had the capacity to  bring back a great war hero or martyr, would you, or more importantly should you?

The story "Imaginary Friends" was actually one of several experimental stories in this anthology.  I wrote it with only dialogue, hoping to evoke a feeling of suspense while also letting the reader figure out who (or what) was speaking.  I developed the idea for the story when I thought of my own childhood.  I couldn't really commit too long to the idea of an imaginary friend when I was younger, but I wondered if those children who do commit have more than an idea... What if they are actually speaking to something otherworldly, perceived only by them?

That is all for today.  If you would like to check out these two stories and 97 others exclusively by Yours Truly, please find  Freaky and Fantastical 500 Words or Less on Amazon today!  Also, if you want to check out a book with some creations by Yours Truly and many other independent creators, MEGABOOK 5 is finally here!  You can download a copy today on DriveThru Comics.  It features my short comics "David and Goliath" and "Terrors of Oz" along with a short story titled "Rite of Passage" from the upcoming Chimera Chronicles anthology, created by myself!  There will be more to come soon!
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