New release: SHADOW MASTERS: An Anthology from The Horror Zine

Imajin Books is proud to release SHADOW MASTERS, a new horror anthology by some masters of suspense, along with some new talent in the genre. I am especially excited about this release as it includes all original, never-before-published shorts stories, including mine, DREAM HOUSE.

Featuring a haunted house cover designed by cover artist extraordinaire, Ryan Doan, SHADOW MASTERS has released to rave reviews, including a major plug from NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD co-writer, John Russo, who says, “This anthology is chock-full of wonderfully horrific stories from noted authors as well as talented unknowns.”

Fear casts a long shadow, and shadows take many shapes…

From award-winning editor, Jeani Rector, who brought you the terrifying anthology, WHAT FEARS BECOME, comes a wicked brew of spine-tingling fiction. Featuring never before published works from best-selling authors such as Bentley Little, Yvonne Navarro, Scott Nicholson, Melanie Tem, Elizabeth Massie, Earl Hamner, Simon Clark, Cheryl Kaye Tardif, Ronald Malfi, Lisa Morton, Jeff Bennington, JG Faherty and many others, this chilling collection of works also includes a foreword from Joe R. Lansdale.

From classic horror and exciting suspense to Twilight Zone-type speculative fiction with twisted endings, SHADOW MASTERS: An Anthology from The Horror Zine delves into the darkest corners of our nightmares and delivers the shivers.

And here's a sneak peek at my short, DREAM HOUSE...

The day we moved into our dream house was the beginning of our nightmare. And it all started with five fortuitous words…

“I want my dream house,” I told my husband.

We stood in the poor excuse of a kitchen in our rundown Boston bi-level. I was stuck between the open oven door and a cupboard on the other side, while Ray unloaded the dishwasher and tried not to bump into me.

“This kitchen is ridiculous,” I said. “Whoever designed it must have been a size zero anorexic who lived on her own.”

I was neither a size zero, nor an anorexic. I wasn’t willing to give up my bacon cheeseburgers and DQ Blizzards. So the scale tipped a little further—not in my favor. Oh well.

“Two weeks, Christine,” Ray said. Then his psychiatric training kicked in. “Are you sure you’re not substituting the new house for something else?”

“I just want space. If that makes me crazy, then…” I shrugged, “so be it.”

Fact is, I’d fallen in love with the idea of buying and renovating an old home. You know, one of those period mansions with hefty wooden doors and arched hallways. Where the ceilings are ornate...

* * *

SHADOW MASTERS: An Anthology from The Horror Zine, edited by Jeani Rector, is now available in ebook and paperback editions.

The Kindle edition is ON SALE for a limited time for only $0.99 USD. 

The trade paperback is $17.99 USD.

Amazon.com - ebook
Amazon.com - paperback

Amazon.ca - ebook
Paperback coming soon!

Amazon.co.uk - ebook
Paperback coming soon!

Createspace - paperback

Have You Tried Writing For Charity?

Debra Purdy Kong wrote a great post yesterday about using writing contests to build your confidence, reputation and body of work.

I've also enjoyed writing for charity anthologies. In the past, I've had stories in two anthologies published by Wolfmont Press to benefit the Marines' Toys for Tots, DYING IN A WINTER WONDERLAND and THE GIFT OF MURDER.  I didn't make it into the latest, MURDER TO MIL-SPEC, which benefited Homes For Our Troops, but you can bet I bought a copy!

I do have two charity stories coming out this Christmas season: one in SPEC THE HALLS, speculative fiction set in the winter holidays, to benefit Heifer International; one in Black Car Publishing's DARK THINGS II: CAT CRIMES (no link yet), benefiting animal shelters.

Being accepted in charity anthologies means you donate your story and make no money (unless you buy copies at the author's price and sell them at the cover price). I've usually re-sold them at the price I paid OR, better yet, donated the difference between what I paid and the cover price to a local charity.

In addition to the benefits Debra listed for entering contests, donating stories to charity can extend your reach beyond the people who would ordinarily find you in their book browsing and give you new sales venues. The SPEC THE HALLS book will appeal to supporters of Heifer International, no matter what kind of fiction they usually read. The CAT CRIMES book will appeal to cat fanciers in addition to mystery readers. And that's icing on top of the cake of knowing you did A Good Thing.

I still have a few days to submit to Ethics Trading's anthology to benefit Doctors Without Borders. If I don't make it into that one, I can try for their next one.

Keep an eye out for charity anthologies. Do search for "charity anthology" or "stories for charity" or put the word out on your writer's grapevine that you're looking for those publications.

Oh, one more thing: If you're shy about plugging your own work, being part of a charity anthology is a great way to break that ice. I can push an anthology I'm not making a nickle from like crazy (see above).

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

Should writers pursue print publication or publish their own ebooks?

The above question came up in a forum recently, and while everyone has to determine what's right for them as it is a very personal decision, I gave them my thoughts on the topic.

I say go for both--print and ebooks. If you have a traditional publisher for your print, all the better. But don't let that stop you from publishing your own ebooks, especially the ones your agent and publisher aren't interested in. You definitely don't want to overlook the ebook market. That's where the money is right now for authors, if you publish the ebooks yourself.

As a self-published and traditionally published print author, I've seen the pros and cons to both sides.

If you have a backlist of titles that your publisher is finished with, get them up on Amazon Kindle, KoboBooks and Smashwords right away. Sales of ebooks are on the rise, and they won't be stopping or slowing any time too soon.

Other ideas for ebooks: publish a collection of short stories or an anthology with other authors, publish a novella or novelette, publish a how-to book or a book of poetry.

I have 4 ebooks coming out between April 1, 2010 and Sept 27, 2010. :-) There's only one thing better than promoting your books, and that's writing them!

My agent is holding 2 thrillers. I'm considering taking one back and publishing it as an ebook next spring.

The key is this: you want to build momentum, then try to keep that momentum going. And the only way to do this is to keep releasing books under some semblance of regularity.

With Amazon's recent royalty raise to 70% for qualifying ebooks, it's possible for authors to now make more money selling less expensive ebooks than selling traditionally published print books. But in the end, it depends on the personal goals of each writer.

Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
bestselling author & book marketing coach
http://www.cherylktardif.com