Author Archives: thelivingdread

June 23, 2018

The Pilgrimage

By thelivingdread

Now that I’m getting deeper into the sequel to my very first novel, Doguhn, I wanted to share an excerpt from the opening chapter. The prologue is titled, The Pilgrimage, and it takes us back before the events of the first novel, before we return to our protagonist and his companions for a new adventure.

I’m shaking the cobwebs off the site again, so updates should be coming soon. I hope you enjoy the excerpt, don’t forget my previous 3 novels are still available on Amazon, and as always, thanks for reading!!!

 

PROLOGUE: THE PILGRIMAGE

Before the gates of Excereax were discovered, opened, and ultimately sealed once more, before it was consumed until nothing but darkness remained, when the Dōguhn still slumbered, dreaming their murderous dreams, a man named Jerold Quintax set foot on this new world for the first time. Bordering on the land of the Eanigmus, Excereax was once a beautiful landscape of rolling hills, mountains, forests, and sparkling clean water; a land wholly uninhabited and void of intelligent life, or so it seemed. Jerold Quintax’s pilgrimage into Excereax was one of peace and exploration.

But his story was destined to be far more tragic. Continue reading

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February 26, 2017

Transactions of the Flesh

By thelivingdread

With the release of The Skin Collection in just a couple days (2/28/17) I thought I’d share the first chapter again to whet your appetite. The trade paperback and Kindle versions will both be available, and you can pre-order the kindle version now if you click right here!

Howard Russo is a collector of human remains. What began as mere fascination became a hobby which fed off the man’s fragile will until it developed into a desperate craving that could never be fulfilled, no matter how many ghastly trophies lined his walls. Forty years later, very few know of Howard’s whereabouts, but some of those with this valuable information are ones to be feared, which is why the old man currently remains in hiding from the prying eyes of the world. Even still, his unhealthy desires persevere, and the skins of countless men and women continue to keep him warm on the darkest, coldest of nights. Continue reading

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February 5, 2017

The Skin Collection Release Date!

By thelivingdread

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The Skin Collection will finally be released in trade paperback (my favorite) and kindle on 2/28/17! Both will be available on Amazon.com, and the kindle edition will be free to those who purchase a physical copy. By the way, once again I opted to omit those pesky DRM restrictions on the kindle version, so you’re free to dump onto as many devices as you like and share with your friends. But it’s only $2.99 on kindle so tell your friends not to be so cheap. The kindle version should be up for preorder shortly, so keep an eye out for it, along with news of the other projects on the way!!!

 

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December 19, 2016

The List

By thelivingdread

black-christmas

I’ve been meaning to write a short holiday/horror story for years (don’t get excited, I still haven’t) but you might get the gist of where I want to go with it below, to be titled: The List.

With the list completed, he looked it over twice, and then a third, fourth and fifth time, hoping with each repetition he’d find that what he’d written with a shaky hand had been a mistake. How could this be? There was an extensive list of infractions with an entire year for him to find just one to levy against the boy, but somehow the son eluded each and every one. As a matter of fact, the boy had even gone out of his way to add a few genuinely good deeds to his list of accomplishments.

Normally the jolly old man would even overlook several bouts of naughty behavior, but in this instance he only needed one reason to avoid this dreaded trip. Try as he might, he couldn’t find a hint of naughtiness in the boy all year, and despite all the lies, torment and death the son of the devil may have dished out in the past, each year a fresh slate is given to all the boys and girls, and this one is clean.

He made his list.

He checked it five fucking times.

He found out who was naughty and nice.

Santa Claus is coming to hell.

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December 4, 2016

Bizarre Inspiration

By thelivingdread

Sooo…it could just be that I’ve been reading Bizarro fiction as of late, but I’ve been wanting to circle back to the insanity and freedom of writing that was The Lost Pages of Trevor Sunburn. When I had written that novel, I just came out of finishing a novel for young adults (or perhaps I should say ALL audiences, as it was written with older adults in mind as well) so naturally I’d wanted to lash out without restraint when I got my fingers back on the keyboard again.

 

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Cover art for The Lost Pages of Trevor Sunburn

I’d been reading a lot of Burroughs around that time as well, so I’m sure that leeched into the manuscript in more than one instance. The result was the fastest and most fun novel I’d ever written that contained, as one friend put it, “a lot of fluids.” Continue reading

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September 27, 2016

The Skin Collection is coming soon!

By thelivingdread

Greetings! I’m just dropping by to inject life into this site, which has been all but dead for months now. I have no excuses you haven’t heard before (life) so I’ll just say, “sorry.” But the good news is that I have a final cover design for The Skin Collection and the test print of the novel looks great.

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The Skin Collection

So I give you my third novel (fourth if we discount the one I’m sitting on and haven’t released yet) and what I believe to be my best and most personal work yet. You can check out the synopsis and excerpts right here!

More details on release date and price are coming soon, and in the meantime I’m working on the sequel to Doguhn with some other work in the pipeline as well, so stay tuned and thanks for reading!!!

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January 31, 2015

The End to the Dawn

By thelivingdread

I’ve said that I’m writing more than one book at a time, and though this is true, it’s been a particularly slow going process (really, really flippin’ slow). So as I prep the release of The Skin Collection, plan the sequel to Doguhn and write What Lurks Beyond the Shadow City, I’ve started The End to the Dawn; a story of hope, drama, romance, horror, comedy, murder, love and loss.

This is going to be my serial killer story. It’s going to be dark, disturbing and twisted, but it’s a story of hope and dreams and second chances, and believe it or not it’s inspired by the music of Tanya Donelly, even named after a song by her.

So as I ramp up my gears I’m hoping I find the energy I once had to promote this growing body of work, and more of you lovely people can discover it, to your enjoyment or dismay. In the meantime, please don’t forget you can preview and pick up Doguhn and The Lost Pages of Trevor Sunburn on Amazon, in either kindle (CHEAP) or trade paperback (less cheap, but I still haven’t warmed up to e-readers, preferring the feel and smell of a physical book in my hands). You can check out my amazon page here!

And with that, I bring The End to the Dawn… Continue reading

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October 18, 2014

What Lurks Beyond the Shadow City?

By thelivingdread

What lurks beyond the shadow city? This question is the title of my new project, which I’m finally moving full-steam ahead with. It’s been quiet, I know, I know, but a divorce, foreclosure, new life and making up for lost time for the last year and a half will do that to a person. Now I’m back in Philly with my new love, my new writing room/desk all set up, and I’m writing not one, not two, but three novels at once…or at least, that’s the plan, as ludicrous as that may seem. I’m enjoying the bleed over and contrast, and if ever I hit a block in one, I can carry over to another.

In addition, I currently have two novels out on amazon now, with my third, The Skin Collection, complete and planned for release as soon as I finish with editing and cover design, as well an older young adult horror novel that I’m polishing, so while you haven’t heard from me, and I’ve been quite lazy if I’m being honest, I haven’t been sitting completely idle.

That ends now of course, as I have What Lurks Beyond the Shadow City?, The End to the Dawn, and The Eanigmus (a sequel to my first novel, Doguhn) in works. I’ll reveal more about all three as I progress and I’m sure I’ll be posting excerpts as well. If I’m feeling especially ambitious I might even pick up the movie and game reviews, or fun articles and lists again, but one step at a time.

So with that, I’ll leave you with the first Chapter of my work in progress. Let me know what you think (PLEASE), and thanks SO much for reading! I love you guys and gals! Continue reading

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April 18, 2014

The Lost Pages of Trevor Sunburn

By thelivingdread

The Lost Pages of Trevor Sunburn is finally available in trade paperback and kindle!

Click here to purchase the trade Paperback version for 12.95!

Click here to purchase the Kindle version for $2.99!

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Here’s a synopsis:

The world moved along as it always had, on an inevitable spiral leading to the self-annihilation of mankind, but something beat us to the punch. These are the lost writings of Trevor Sunburn; one of the few remaining survivors who tells of the plague that consumed our species, believed to have been caused by a race of ancient creatures known as angels. The plague came swiftly, traveling in the wind, causing madness, physical mutation, and death.

Trevor and his eccentric companions will lead us through life and death before and after the apocalypse, the dangers of the remaining survivors who have lost their minds or have been horribly transformed by the epidemic, and on a journey to discover the home of those responsible. Filled with elements of horror, action, sci-fi, fantasy, surrealism and dark comedy, The Lost Pages of Trevor Sunburn will take you on a mind trip you won’t soon forget.

Now, I’d like to take a little time to talk about how this one was created, because it was a fun ride and different than any book I’d ever written.  Continue reading

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April 17, 2014

One Day Until The End!

By thelivingdread

Just a quickie here. For those who may have missed it, we have one day left!

The Change is coming 4/18/14!

The Lost Pages of Trevor Sunburn will be released on Good Friday–trade paperback will be $12.95 and the kindle edition just $2.99–and will be available for purchase on Amazon.com.

I’ll post more about this release tomorrow, including how the book came to be, but for now I’ll tell you a secret…if you want it a little early…the kindle version is already live, shhhh…

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