A little bit of everything....

What a week, month, year this has been. Not quite what I'd expected that's for sure. But it's not time for the yearly wrap up yet, so I'll just talk about this last few weeks. I thought November was going to be a "quiet" month. I actually had a plan for NaNoWriMo (which is probably where I went wrong, you know, planning). I wanted to write ten stories instead of a novel, roughly the same word count, but so that I'd have something to submit. Know how many stories I wrote? Zip. Nada. It was a failure of epic proportions. Although I did get one story edited and subbed and rejected. Once. And I got my novella finished, edited, and sent off to the publisher. So there's that.

We didn't get back from California until the 5th and then I took a day or two off to rest. The grandbabies were sick pretty much the whole time we were there so I wanted to make sure my body had time to adjust and not end up sick myself. Then we got heavily involved in a project I'm doing that has nothing to do with writing and cannot be explained at this time. Let's just suffice it to say it's huge and I'm super excited about it and will share as soon as I can. But it ate up like a whole week. Then we got CJ for a visit. And two days later Mike got sick and was hospitalized for six days. We've been home for less than a week and boom! the month is over. How does that even happen??

Good news, Mike is mending. Not as quickly as he'd like, but he's mending. And he doesn't have colon cancer, and he didn't end up septic (just really, really close). That's a lot to be thankful for. Sometimes I think The Universe gives us these little scares in order to remind us not to take things for granted.

Mo's pregnancy is going well. She's fifteen weeks along. We're all super excited for that 20 week sonogram so we can find out if it's a girl or a boy. I'm betting boy. She's going to have a houseful of rough and tumble hooligans.

Sean is doing well in North Carolina. Unfortunately he won't be making it home for Christmas. I had planned to drive out for Thanksgiving, but you know, The Universe intervened and all. I miss that boy like crazy.

And, I put up three previously published short stories on Amazon and Smashwords. All three had been published in different anthologies but the rights have since reverted to me, so I thought, why not? Maybe those of you who don't want to purchase a whole anthology of authors you don't know might like to purchase a story at a time. The fantastic covers were done by Rebecca Treadway of www.atrtink.com. I highly recommend her excellent cover art. She's the master behind the truly frightening Snow Globe cover. So here are the covers, click on any of them to be taken to Amazon. But if you have a Nook, or other reading app, they are also available on Smashwords.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving, and are going into the holiday season with the most joyous of moods. I, myself, am feeling unusually Christmas-y this year. And for a change, I'm almost done Christmas shopping.

 

Stayed tuned for some big news headed your way on the Angelic Knight Press front this week. But above all, be good to each other. 'Tis the season.

 



♥Stacey

Meet Fran Friel

I met Fran Friel at KillerCon in Vegas this year. I was instantly a Fran fan. Not only is she perhaps one of the nicest people I've ever met, she's one of those individuals who instantly make you feel at home in their presence, as though you'd known them forever. We went to dinner with some other fine folks (Gene O'Neill, Gord Rollo, Danielle Day, Bob Meracle, and Bill Gagliani) and had one of the best conversations about writing that I've ever had the great fortune to take part in. I'm happy to call all of them my friends.

I attended a reading that Fran did at the convention for her short story collection, Mama's Boy. And I was blown away. Here's this super nice, super caring lady talking about dead babies falling from the sky. Yep. You read that right. Dead babies. Talk about blown away. So naturally, I had to buy the book. And Fran was kind enough to sign it personally for me. You can read my review of her book over at See Spot Read. Go ahead, you now you want to...

But for this blog, I interviewed Fran so the rest of you could get to know more about her. And you'll see by her answers what a wonderful conversationalist she is. Without further ado~

1. How long have you been taking your writing seriously?

 I know that many of us have been writing since we could hold a crayon, but when did you have that subtle mental shift that says, “I am a writer?” I’ve always known, Stacey. Dr. Seuss and Green Eggs and Ham sent me down that slippery slope at a very early age. I was writing poetry for the community newsletter when I was six. My Aunt Helen was the publisher, and her deadlines were so demanding, I wilted under the pressure and gave up writing until I was “discovered” in high school. But I’m plagued (or gifted…depends on the day) with a Gemini’s heart, so there was also art. I spent an inordinate number of hours staring at flowers and trying to draw them. Then there was my Norman Rockwell phase. I recreated his portfolio with colored pencils, and I suspect Norman is still rolling over in his grave. Hmm…I think there’s a story there, but I digress. Then there was music (I told you I’m a Gemini!). I played the Bassoon, which is a big double-reed instrument in the oboe family. It’s a fairly rare instrument, so I was fortunate to get a full scholarship to a wonderful college prep school, and also to a university conservatory. So, music took front stage for many years, and my writing stayed in the shadows. Finally, in my thirties, I started feeling the pull again, but it wasn’t until 2005 when my dear husband made the suggestion that I get serious about it, that I finally jumped in with both feet. Good husband, huh?

2. Do you write full time or do you have a day job?

Well, I’m the keeper of the castle here at Chateau Friel, and that keeps me busier than I’d like to be. I’m financier, bookkeeper, housekeeper, animal wrangler, repair woman, mechanic, gardener, personal shopper, and personal assistant to Mr. Friel (he works a minimum of 14 hours a day and when he’s not working, he’s mostly sleeping…poor guy). I retired from my private practice as a holistic therapist back in 2005 to pursue writing, but I still see clients part-time. So, I continue to pursue that magical balance between the demands of normal life and writing life. I’m not there yet, but I can smell it. It’s close.

   3. What is your writing routine like? Any special rituals you must complete to get you “in the mood?”

Being the keeper of the castle and being a Gemini makes setting a routine a challenging thing, consequently, I’m usually flying by the seat of my pants. I wish I could offer some wisdom on the subject, but my goal at this time of my life and my career is to keep writing and to maintain my love of the process. I have had the tendency to make writing a laborious chore, weighting it in my mind as something akin to doing brain surgery in a war zone combined with spreading hot tar on the roof of a sweltering city apartment building. This, as you can imagine, is not an inspiring scenario. Hence, my change of heart—I’m keeping it light, and my muse and I love it! Fortunately, when I’m not castle keeping, I have a very quiet house in which to work. When I write, I don’t listen to music (unless I’m in a public place, then the headphones come out and I crank up some ambient tunes to block out the noise!). I don’t have the television on. I like it completely quiet (I’m a little ADD, so sound is distracting to me). Writing for me is like a meditation. I’m going someplace deep and far away. I find interruptions almost painful—like being dragged up from the depths back into the glaring world of real life. Ugh.

4. Pantser or Plotter?

I used to be a very careful plotter. I wasn’t comfortable writing until I knew most of the details and plot points and how I was going to get were I was go. It felt like writing with a connect-the-dots approach. Then I started to notice that I was losing the juice. By outlining with so much detail, I often felt like I’d already written the story, so the creative energy seemed somehow spent before I did the actual writing. So with my need to keep loving the process, sans the roof tarring misery, I decided to start writing blind. I’m a firm believer in the magic of the creative process, so I challenged myself to take an inspiration and just run with it. An inspiration usually comes in the form of a scene, or maybe just a snapshot of a scene—a mystery for me to solve. What is this scene about? Who is in it? What is the significance of the objects I’m seeing or the feelings this image is engendering in me? It’s kind of like stepping into the scene of a movie, or stepping onto a set where everyone is frozen in place. What’s happening? I’ll sit with those questions for a while and daydream until the answers start to get clearer. Then I just start writing—drilling down. So far this process has never failed me. The story begins to reveal itself, and I just follow along. When I get stuck, I pose a question to my psyche about whatever the problem is, then I take a break. Sometimes I take a nap, or sleep on it. Inevitably, the muse and the secret writer in my brain’s private office, they sort it out and bring me the answer. This is my version of the elves who make the shoes while the cobbler sleeps. I’ll make notes about a story when an idea hits me, but I don’t plot anymore. I may make a scene list that can be juggled into place and repositioned for continuity and arc, but for me, that’s part of the editing process. I fast draft the first draft with minimal editing, so as not to stifle the creative process, then I put on my editors hat. I’m merciless in the editing process, which is much easier to do when I take off the hat of the artsy fartsy writer—she’s much too sensitive about “killing her darlings.”

5. Have you always been a fan of the horror genre?

Not really. Like many folks, I read Stephen King and Dean Koontz before I became a writer, but my first love has always been Science Fiction. I fell into writing horror kind of by accident. I was eager to get my first publication credit, and a friend told me that the Horror Library was holding a contest. Winning included publication, so I gave it shot. To my surprise, I won. I seemed to have a bit of a knack for twisted tales (which I attribute to having older brothers—read my story, “Mashed,” and you’ll see what I mean).

6. “Fine Print” was one of my favorite stories in your collection, Mama’s Boy. The society and the idea of the dreamers was very detailed. How did you come up with the idea?

I’m so glad you enjoyed the story, Stacy. When I wrote it, I was worried that the pacing was too slow for most readers, but I made an executive decision to slow it down and follow wherever it wanted to take me. That’s how the details of the Society of Dreamers emerged. I’ve been a long-time student of The Monroe Institute, where I’ve studied the subject of expanded consciousness and things like the out-of-body experience, life after death, and near death experiences. The esoteric and the mystical have fascinated me for most of my life, so I guess the concepts just bubbled up out of my psyche. There was very little thinking and planning on the subject—the details just revealed themselves piece by piece.

7. I’ve met you in person, and you are so fantastically sweet and caring. But some of the stories in this collection, “Special Prayers,” for example are amazingly dark. How do you explain such a dichotomy between your public self and your writing self?

You’re very kind to say that, Stacy, but I’m not really sure. I did spend sixteen years in private practice as a holistic therapist, not to mention, a lot of years of training and private therapy. I’ve gone to very deep places with folks, as well as in my own personal work, so I guess you could say that I’m not afraid to plumb the depths of the human psyche. The psychology of why people do what they do, fascinates me. I believe that for the most part, we’re not born evil. We learn it as a means of survival. That doesn’t justify the darkness they inflict on others, but it sure is an intriguing subject to explore.

8. Who are some of today’s authors that you admire?

These days, I read mostly Science Fiction, and I tend toward British writers, like Peter F. Hamilton and Iain M. Banks, but I love the work of Cat Rambo, Kelly Link, and my old favorites, Jack Vance and Julian May. Some of the horror voices that I really enjoy are Gary Braunbeck, Gene O’Neill, Tom Piccirilli, John R. Little, Kealan Patrick Burke, and John Mantooth, all who write strong character driven stories with a psychological bent.

9. What is the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received?

Well, I know you asked for the best, but I’ve gotten a couple. Hard to pick the best.

1. I took a fiction course at Gotham Writers’ Workshop with Terri Brown Davidson. She’s the angel who taught me to use the two hats writing approach of fast drafting with complete abandon, then switching hats and passing the reigns to the ruthless self-editor. It’s very freeing!

2. Stephen King’s, On Writing, changed me as a writer with his simple advice to “Tell the truth.” I’ve never forgotten that. When I get antsy about writing something that’s personally uncomfortable, but completely truth for the character, I put on my big girl pants and tell the truth, just like Master King told me.

3. A few years back I did a writers’ intensive where we did tabletop critiques with seasoned professionals. We went from one instructor’s critiquing circle to the next—kind of like running the gauntlet. One instructor, who knew my work well, literally said, “What is the sh*t? This opening is completely incomprehensible!” Tough skinned, I took my lickin’ and went on to the next instructor. He also knew my work well, and preceded to tell me that the story was the best thing I’d ever written, particularly the opening. That day, I learned that opinions are just that—opinions! I take them all with a grain of salt.

10. What advice would you give to new or aspiring authors?

I would recommend a couple of things:

1. Join a critique group. If you can’t find one, create one. Francis Ford Coppola’s, Zoetrope.com Virtual Studios is where I started. Only about ten to twenty percent of the advice you get in most critique groups will be of value. When multiple people tell you the same thing, then take serious notice. The rest, take under advisement.

2. Volunteer to be a slush reader for a fiction magazine, preferably one in your genre. The experience is invaluable, because you learn quickly what not to do when you see the same errors over and over. You also learn how editors choose stories. It often has nothing to do with the writing; rather it’s a personal preference, duplicate subject matter in an issue, or a story is just not right for that particular month, etc.

3. Go to writing conventions or workshops. Study your craft (particularly the Three Act Play, theme, POV, and voice) and meet people face to face. Introduce yourself and be humble. These friendships and connections can make a huge difference in your career long-term.

4. Write a lot, but let your first drafts sit for at least a couple of weeks before you do your next draft. Waiting will help you see your work with fresh eyes. Avoid rushing to submit. If your writing is good enough for publication, make sure it’s the best work you can produce at the time. Otherwise, you’ll regret it later and wish you could go back and fix all the crap you didn’t notice because you sent the story out too quickly.
  
5. Finally, Fast Draft with wonder and abandon. Edit fearlessly!

Thanks so much for the opportunity to talk with you and your readers. It’s been a real pleasure. Let’s do it again soon!

No. Thank you, Fran, for sharing so much with my readers. (I told you she was a sweetheart, didn't I?)

Fran's Bio:

FRAN FRIEL lives and dreams by the sea in southern New England. She’s a two-time Bram Stoker Award finalist and winner of the Black Quill Award. She writes horror, dark fantasy and science fiction, and like many “respectable” authors, she is currently working on a novel. You'll find Fran’s award winning collection, Mama’s Boy and Other Dark Tales, at ApexBookCompany.com and other fine book sellers.

Fran’s work has been featured in anthologies such as, Horror Library Vol. 1 (Cutting Block Press), Tiny Terrors 2 (Hadesgate/UK) and Legends of the Mountain State III (Woodland Press), as well as publications online and in print at The Horror Library, Apex Digest, Insidious Reflections, Wicked Karnival, The Lightning Journal, Lamoille Lamentations The Eldritch Gazette, and Dark Recesses Press. Fran’s limited edition debut novella, Mama's Boy, was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award (2006), as was the the follow-up collection, Mama's Boy and Other Dark Tales (2008 Stoker Finalist).

You can find Fran on FaceBook, Twitter, and at her blog.

For all you Coffin Hopper's out there, don't forget to leave a comment to win prizes. I'm offering a signed (by Gene O'Neill, Gord Rollo, Tim Marquitz, and me!) print copy of Fading Light: An Anthology of the Monstrous to one lucky winner who leaves a comment every day. For a free eBook of your choice from the AKP library of titles, one comment = one entry. Don't forget to stop by the Angelic Knight Press blog for a chance to win frame quality artwork and a free copy of Satan's Toybox: Terrifying Teddies. You should also visit the other Coffin Hop blogs here for a chance to win other great prizes.

♥Stacey

And another anthology is born...

Born as in released. Not birthed. Although, sometimes it feels like I put as much work into these anthologies as I did into birthing my actual children. So either way... The third installment, and probably final book, in the Satan's Toybox series is now available for purchase on Amazon and Smashwords. The print books should be available soon.

I have to say that this might be my favorite of the anthologies in this series. The stories are very good. And there's just something about taking a small stuffed toy, meant for comfort, and turning it into something horrifying instead. Not to mention, there's a few very creepy children involved. And as I commented on a friend's blog yesterday--if you don't think children are creepy, you've never woken in the middle of the night to have one standing over you, silently staring. That's creepy, even when they are your own offspring. Why do they never stand over their father's side??

Also, my contribution to this anthology, "Dead Nicky," is probably my favorite story I've ever written. I know a lot of people really like "Born of Darkness," in the Fading Light anthology, but I love "Dead Nicky." And I'll let you in on a little secret--when I was writing it, even I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out. I hope you're as surprised as I was.

So if you've got a little time to spare and a hankering for some horror fiction, give this anthology a try. Just don't turn your back on those Teddy Bears...


♥Stacey

News, updates & a photo

I know, right? I'm a horrible blogger. Which is funny because I used to be a fantastic blogger. My other blog, What Passes for Sane on a Crazy Day, was like my baby for a long time. I blogged faithfully (and funnily, so I'm told) nearly every day. For years. Now, I'm lucky if I post once a month. What happened? Did I lose my zest for blogging? Did my life become unfunny? The answer is a resounding "no" to both questions. I still love blogging, I just can't seem to find the time. And my life become unfunny? Seriously? With my family? Not likely.

So what did happen? I got busy. I know, it's a pretty lame excuse for a writer. "I was too busy to write." Um, but I am. I'm running a company. It takes a lot of time. Seriously, some days I barely have time to go to the bathroom. I know you think I'm kidding, but I swear I'm not. My bladder pinky swears. But I'm not here today to give you excuses or facilitate a conversation between my readers and my bladder. I'm here to give you news! Yay! News! No, no, not that boring election coverage news (how many different ways can they insult each other after all?), not sad news about murders, hate crimes, tragic accidents, or drought conditions (but seriously, if it doesn't rain soon and settle some of this dust soon I'm probably going to sneeze myself to death). No, news about me.

I'm hoping that some of you have been seeing the posts on my FB author page or AKP's FB page about the upcoming anthology Fading Light, which I'm ecstatic to be in. I'm sharing a table of contents with some amazing heavy hitters in the horror genre. I'm very proud of my story, though it's a huge departure from my usual writing. And to top it all off--the cover art rocks. The anthology should be available on September 1st. So start saving those pennies now if you want to purchase it. In the next few days I will be posting some excerpts and a closer look at the antho.

And--in even bigger news--I have a short story collection coming out next month. I'm equal parts excited and petrified. Excited, because, well, it's all about me. And I love the stories in it (surely hoping you do too). They are all tales of horror or dark fantasy, some previously published, some new to the public. There are also a few poems. And yes, AKP is the publisher. I know that some look down on releasing work by the staff of a publishing company. If it's all we ever did, promote the work of our staff, I could understand the criticism. But we don't. The fact is we publish a variety of works by new and established authors in multiple genres. I could have shopped my collection around, but why? AKP has a very generous royalty split with it's authors (and yes, I'm taking the same deal that we give our other authors, so that part of the royalties go back to the company). AKP has a fantastic cover artist and is getting a good reputation for quality work. So it seems like a no-brainer to me. But, in part to help silence the critics, and in part because I just think he's a damn fine editor, I have hired Rob M. Miller (you can check out his website here) to edit the collection. It would be impossible for me to edit my own collection, I don't believe anyone is that good of an editor. And I wanted someone outside of our staff to take a look at it.

I'm working with Rebecca Treadway, AKP's amazing cover artist (her new website is under construction), to incorporate a photo of my daughter, Molly Flanagan (she doesn't have a website), on the cover. Molly is gorgeous (okay, I could be slightly biased, but I doubt it), has modeling experience, and will work for books. It's a win-win. And I'm having a blast playing photographer and scouting locations. I posted some of the photos we took, but unfortunately weren't quite awesome enough for print covers (something about DPI's & ISO settings & light) on my FB page. You can see them there, but my favorite is this one:

She looks so sad.

 

 

Although, all of them were cool, in my opinion. So hopefully, we will manage to take one that does work for the cover. We're doing a photo shoot next week in a historical cemetery. Fingers crossed.

 

 

And last but not least, I'm currently reading the submissions for the upcoming anthology No Place Like Home: Tales from a Fractured Future. I will be editing the antho, but will not have a story in it. This one is strictly an editing cred. The theme is sci-fi/horror dystopian. It's an odd amalgamation, but the authors who've submitted really ran with the theme of the future gone horribly wrong. I'll have a table of contents on this one by the end of the month and hopefully, a sneak peak at the cover art (which is amazing) to share.

 

And that's what's going on in my world. How about yours?

 



♥Stacey

Meet Sam Williams

I met Sam Williams through email. I edited his new short story collection, Tales from The Swollen Corpse. It was a great experience. Sam was easy to work with and he's very talented. You can read my review of his book over at See Spot Read. For those of you who enjoy short story collections I highly recommend this one. And it's currently priced at 99 cents. So worth it!

Now, about Sam~

1.)    How long have you been writing?
A long time but only the last two years seriously with the desire to put it out there for everyone to see.

2.)    Do you write full time or do you have another job? If so, what is it?
I wish. During my 9 to5 I work in customer service/sales for a major prosthetic manufacturer, specializing in lower limb prosthesis. Also my wife and I are the proud parents of a rambunctious three year old, which is a full time job in itself.

3.)    Is this your first published collection?
Yes and hopefully not the last.

4.)    What made you decide to go the Indie route?
A few things: Short stories have the limited market of genre mags and anthologies with multiple authors. I have had some luck getting into both but wanted my own collection and to be a no name and have a collection you pretty much need to go indy. Also I am big fan of the indy movement. The abundance of new fresh voices was what converted me from the closed minded (if it’s not paper it’s not a book) person I used to be. Now I understand (and preach) eBooks are an addition to your reading diet and any good diet should have variety. And like the indy music stores I spent so much time in in my youth, if your are up for the task of digging you’re bound to find something that blows your mind.

5.)     What is it you like about writing short stories? What would you say the challenges with this form are?
I like the freedom, the freedom to be more abstract and leave a little more to the imagination, which is very important to horror. The challenges like conveying a lot with little, is part of the fun for me.

6.)    What scares you personally? Do you have any silly phobias?
Anything that would jeopardize the health or safety of my son. I think becoming a parent puts priorities and fears in a broader selfless prospective.

7.)    What is your writing routine?
Late at night in front of my old desk top, door closed, kid in bed and headphones on listening to two songs (always the same two) on repeat.

8.)    Have you always been a fan of horror?
Oh yeah and that’s where the love for it comes from, it’s a form of nostalgia. Horror at its core is about fear. As an adult you know real fears and they are not entertainment. But in a scary story you are trying to recapture those feelings you got watching the midnight movie as a kid, that weird mix of excitement and mystery. 

9.)    What other authors inspire you?
The guys that everyone mentions (and deserve it so): King, Barker, Lovecraft. I also love and read a lot of horror comics from writers like Steve Niles. And I love cult classic lit like Hunter Thompson and Jack Kerouac.  A huge inspiration from childhood are the stories and are in the three original “Scary stories to tell in the dark” by Alvin Schwartz and illustrated by Stephen Gammell.

10.) What advice would you give to newbie writers out there?
Always appreciate criticism it’s invaluable. But be aware of where it comes from. It should be a tool for improvement but criticism that’s negative for the sake of being negative as well as overly positive is useless.
Oh and get a good editor.

BIO:

A little back-story on me and TSC
I grew up reading and watching the creature feature. I loved reading things like Scary stories to tell after dark, the old EC/creepy comics, and magazines like Monsters Attack. Of course my tastes grew as I did but I never lost love for these types of stories.
In October 2010 after having a hard time (outside of comics) finding the pulp horror stories I craved, I started writing my own. I created a blog called Theswollencorpse.blogspot.com
 The stories found in it are for grownups and range from lighthearted to very dark. 
Tales from the swollen corpse can be found at:
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005BE43RQ

Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tales-from-the-swollen-corpse-sam-williams/1104270029

Paperback: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/tales-from-the-swollen-corpse/16350940

And on iTunes.

Blog http://theswollencorpse.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Swollen-Corpse/111357002276607

Hope you enjoyed meeting Sam as much as I have.
♥Stacey

#Friday Flash- The Hidden Door

Hey! It's that time again- time for #Friday Flash. This week's Vamplit Blog's prompt was "hidden places". Hope you'll enjoy my entry and stop by the Vamplit Blog to read all the other entries as well!

The Hidden Door

Sam winced as the door creaked. He paused and listened to see if he could hear footsteps of any kind. Nothing. He was just about to resume his pressure on the door when Jeff pushed past him, rudely shoving the door inward. The resulting squeal of the hinges seemed to explode in Sam’s eardrums.

“What the hell?” he said, as loudly as he dared. “We’re breaking and entering here, in case you’d forgotten. We need to be quiet.”

Jeff shrugged. “I told you no one was here. I watched the old couple leave an hour ago. They don’t come back till morning. And the stores on either side are closed up tight too. Nobody’s gonna hear us. Quit being a pansy ass.”

Sam bit his tongue to keep from responding to Jeff’s taunts. Man, he was sick of him. Soon as he had enough dough, he was skipping town. This little Podunk town was weird as hell and he didn’t want to be here. Jeff was a native and while he was a jerk and about as subtle as a bull in a china shop, so far he’d been good at finding places to rob and knew the comings and goings of half the town. So he’d put up with him a bit longer.

Looking around, Sam asked, “What the hell kind of store is this?”

“Antiques.” Jeff answered. “You know, old valuable shit.”

“You’re kidding me, right?” Sam asked, staring at a taxidermied monkey leg. He didn’t see anything valuable. Everything he saw was creepy.

 

“Nope. Not kidding.” Jeff replied, picking up a glass jar filled with a clear liquid. Sloshing around inside were what appeared to be several eyeballs.

Sam shook his head in disgust and sighed. “Alright, I’ll look over here and you start on the other side of the room. Fill your pack with small things, anything you think we can fence.”

An hour later Sam had grabbed a few things; a gold locket, a silver brush & mirror set and gold pocket watch. He was ready to blow this gig. He’d felt nervous from the time they broke in and it was getting worse. Plus he was hot and sweaty and felt dirty from pawing through the dusty offerings. This whole night was a waste. He was pissed at Jeff and pissed at himself. He should’ve known better. This was nothing but an old junk store. Just as he turned to tell Jeff he thought they should go, Jeff let out yelp and jumped back several feet.

 

“A rat! A freakin rat!” he shouted.

“Shut the hell up!” Sam said. “Do you want us to get busted?”

Jeff shook his head. “Sorry man, but that startled the hell out of me. This place is giving me the heebie-jeebies.”

“Yeah,” Sam said. “I know what you mean. Let’s bail.” He shouldered his pack and headed for the entrance.

“Hey wait!” Jeff called. “I found a door.”

“Yeah, so did I.” Sam replied.

“No. I found a hidden door.” Jeff said.

Sam pondered that for a minute. Why would you hide a door unless there was something to hide behind it? What the hell, they’d already wasted the night as it was, couldn’t hurt to take a quick look. He walked over to where Jeff was moving a big cupboard. As they slid the cupboard to the side, Sam saw what Jeff was talking about- a small door had been hidden behind it.

“What do ya think’s behind there?” Jeff asked.

 

“How the hell should I know?” Sam said. “One of us will have to check.”

“Hell no!” Jeff said. “I ain’t going in there.”

Sam sighed. He really didn’t want to either. Had to be something worthwhile in there, he thought. This night couldn’t get any worse. He pulled out his pocket flashlight and knelt down on all fours.

“Okay Jeff, open her up.”

 

Jeff fought with the latch on the door for a few minutes before it gave. He swung the door wide and Sam shone his light inside. A puff of dusty air escaped, making them both cough.

“Jesus H! It smells like something died in there.” Jeff coughed.

 

Sam agreed but braced himself and started up the stairs. As soon as he was past the door, he was able to stand up a little. He followed the steps up to a landing and glanced around. The flashlight illuminated very little, but from what he could see, the room was just a storage area filled with more junk. Shit! Shit! Shit! This night sucks, he thought. Just as he started back to the stairs the swinging beam of the flashlight caught something scurrying into the shadows. He stopped and swung the light again.

 

This time, it wasn’t so quick. Caught in the light was something that resembled a cross between a guinea pig and a squirrel. The moment that Sam spent staring at it is what cost him is life. In the very next instant the thing flew at him all teeth and claws and sour breath. It latched on to his throat and penetrated the jugular before he even had a chance to scream. The only sound was a soft gurgling and the thump of his body as it sagged to the floor. The flashlight bounced down the stairs.

 

Jeff heard the thump and saw the flashlight bounce down. “Sam?” he called. “C’mon Sam, this shit’s not funny.” He waited a few minutes before he picked up the flashlight and climbed a stair or two. He never even saw the creature coming. The flashlight rolled down the stairs again and came to rest next to their backpacks.

 

The next morning Mr. & Mrs. Goldenstein arrived at Eccentricities and opened shop. Mrs. Goldenstein found the opened door and the packs beside it.

 

“Oh dear, oh dear.” She muttered, before shutting and latching the little door.

Mr. Goldenstein saw what she was doing and shook his head.

“Looks like little Goldie had a big night.”

I'm sure I don't have to repeat this but stealing is bad and will not go unpunished. Just saying.

Happy Friday- may your weekend be filled with fun,
♥Stacey

Guest Posting

I am guest posting on the fabulous Jason McKinney's blog today. You can find it here

I gave him one of my favorite short stories to put up. It would be awesome if everyone could stop by over there to check it out. While you're there, check out Jason's blog and leave him some love too. He's not only a comedic horror writer, he's an all around great guy!

Stacey