The Best of Indie Horror: Christmas Edition

Christmas brings out the best and worst in many people the world over — thus, lighting a fire in the bellies of storytellers who wish to strike warm fuzzies or tantalising terror in reader’s hearts. You won’t find the warm fuzzy feeling here; that’s not what we do! Don’t forget the milk and cookies, you’re going to need some extreme comforting while reading this collection of frightful festive horror shenanigans!*

Frightfully festive horror shenanigans!

After releasing several best-selling anthology series, I wanted to do something new. Having worked with a tremendous number of authors over the years, I decided to gather some of my favourites together and do an unthemed book. [Best of Indie Horror, and The Best Of Indie Horror Christmas Edition] are the result of that idea. Inside the covers, you will find an array of styles covering a wealth of sub genres. I present you with, the best of indie horror. ~ Kevin J. Kennedy

I don’t have this blog just to #SupportIndieHorror, I LOVE reading indie horror, and that’s how this blog was born. Almost a decade later and things have only gotten better! And I’m far from alone – we’ve watched authors grow, get famous, watched their books turn into movies, it’s crazy! I love being able to turn to The Dark Defender and say “OMG, I’m friends with them!” We’ve watched this genre grow, too! It’s never been easier for us Extreme Horror fans to find someone new to check out. Keven put together a kick ass collection of indie authors for this book of crazy Christmas shenanigans! Some names you’ll surely recognize, and a few you’ll be reading for the first time here. Check out this line up…

The book begins the way all holidays should – with traditions! TRADITION by Steve Stred in this case. Jacob, a man obsessed with Christmas. His quest for this year’s family tree begins with a heavenly spa, but things go south (see what I did there 😂) quickly when Jacob makes his first cut into o tannenbaum.

From there, see what Lex H. Jones has in store on the TOP FLOOR: SEASONAL FURNISHINGS AND CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS. One of the men on the night shift janitorial crew, Thomas, finds a weird door while cleaning the department store he works in. He follows the path up the stairs and finds a whole floor of outdated Christmas supplies, and displays! As he looks around, he can’t believe how different it is from the way things are today. Then he starts to get dizzy… Doesn’t it seem odd to him that the doorway was blocked off and hidden behind a mural? He didn’t even think that maybe there’s a reason it was so well hidden. Now look at him. SMDH.

When we make our way back downstairs, RJ Roles pits scam artist against scam artist in PENNIES FOR SANTA. The generosity of strangers is bypassing Todd and his bell-ringer bucket this year. Seems that Santa’s little elves are working on something of their very own this season. As for Santa, well, read on …

CLITORIS KRAMPUS is one of my standouts among these cheerful holiday tales. Zoltán Komor brings us a love story where Mrs. Claus still adores her husband after all this time, and goes to great lengths to prove it. And that’s only the beginning, honey!

Veronica Smith fills us in on the true story of those creepy little trolls that follow Santa around in LET THE DAMN ELVES DIE ALREADY. It’s about little Candace, who saw her first elf at age six. Ten years later she sees the elves again, but this time it’s on HER terms.

Another stand out story from this collection is THE MALL SANTA by Eric Butler. After a failed job, a missing sister, and an eighteen month hiatus, a group of ‘friends’ reunite for one more score – they are going to rob Santa! Santa might have other plans though…

Patrick Reuman tells us a bedtime story about Santa’s origins in SANTA CLAWS. His real name, how he knows if you’ve been naughty or nice, and what happens to the naughty boys and girls after their parents lay them down for a long winter’s nap and Santa Claws comes to town.

I love the nod to The Devil’s Rejects in A LAST CHANCE CHRISTMAS MIRACLE by Matthew V. Brockmeyer. There’s a lot going on in this one, and is a little bleak. It’s a great story, but I kind of want to take a shower and shake it off, lol. There is a little light at the end of the tunnel – but not for everyone! Maybe that’s part of the miracle…

BLOOD, BULLETS, AND BAUBLES aren’t the only things in this festive short by David Owain Hughes. It also comes with hired assassins, zombie elves, and Klaws – you’ll find out exactly WHO he is when you read it.

You’ll find out that Matthew A. Clarke is about to bring us a fun yuletide yarn on the very first page of GOLDEN TICKET. The real ‘baubles’ show up one story late in the lineup! Telling your kids Christmas stories on Christmas Eve is a beautiful tradition, and it’s even more fun when you know you’re not supposed to be talking about this particular story. But, if you can’t talk about butt stuff on Christmas then what’s the point?

Kevin J. Kennedy wraps up this anthology by telling us a tale about a brother and sister that reunite to spend the holidays together for the first time since their parents died. Too bad they’re doing it in THE CHRISTMAS CABIN FROM HELL. Once they notice the three evil snowmen outside the only door, it’s probably already too late! I am really happy to tell you that this does not follow the typical horror movie formula, so Kev gets bonus points for that!

🎅 AUTHOR CONNECT / STALKING TIPS 🤶

Each of these author links lead to their Goodreads profile: Matthew V. Brockmeyer, Eric Butler, Matthew A. Clarke, David Owain Hughes, Lex H Jones, Kevin J. Kennedy, Zoltán Komor, Patrick Reuman, RJ Roles, Veronica Smith and Steve Stred

The Best of Indie Horror: Christmas Edition is available for FREE with Kindle Unlimited. Pick it up on Amazon now!

EDIT: That’s it for this one guys. It was scheduled to post days ago, but I screwed something up trying to schedule it, so… here we are. I have R&R many holiday horror anthologies over the years, I can’t get enough of ’em! Tell me what your favorite holiday collection is in the comments!

Steve Stred got me curious about other family holiday traditions… I want to hear about your family, and any weird things you might have to do every year. If you guys play along, I have a fun one to share with you!

P, L & N💋

~sg

Sea’s Sanger Series

Sanger Entertainment The Complete Series by Sea Caummisar
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

WARNING – Once you start this book, you won’t be able to stop until the last book is finished.
If you picked up this series before reading anything else from this author, Sanger Entertainment was born in the blood of Games The Complete Series Books 1-6. I was really excited about the idea of Sanger getting its own series, but I didn’t have a clue what it was going to be like. The reality of the final project exceeded my wildest imagination!
It has everything I wanted – the casino, the collection crews, the underground fighting, and videos, etc. But so much more, too! (Note to author: I absolutely LOVE the pharmacy, nice touch!) And since this is Sea Caummisar we’re talking about, it has all the blood, gore, and always inventive deaths that keep us coming back for more.
Beyond all that though…The story that continues throughout these books is outstanding! Together these guys – THOMAS, BRUNO, KURT, and MAX are like brothers, with PAULIE being the honorary, adopted little brother – they’ve grown Sanger into something untouchable. But when the wife and kids kind of family comes in to play, it’s not always so easy to balance. If it comes down to it, which family is more important?
It depends on who you ask.

More reviews on Goodreads

I’ll go over the stories individually at a later time, but it’s so hard to do! Sea Caummisar packs so much story into so few pages that I’m always feeling like I’m balancing on that very thin line between review, or spoiler.

Have you read this series already? Do you have a favorite? I like Kurt & Thomas the most, cuz Max lost his damn fool mind! But, then again, we can’t forget about Paulie… He may not be one of the four founding members, but he’s been here through thick and thin, and knows more secrets than the president should be privy to. It’s really hard to pick a favorite, innt? Gotta boogie for now, but say hey in the comments, let me know you’re still lurking!

P, L & N 💋

~ sg

Give the author a shout in the comments! Or, better yet, you can reach out and get in touch via social media:

Have You Met Billy Silver?

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

The Latest Novella From Extreme Horror Author Daniel Volpe

Billy Silver, a low-life, self-downtrodden junkie, needs some cash to get his next fix. After getting kicked out of his own band, Shit Fist, losing his girlfriend, and left with no other options, he decides to sell his flesh to the ink of a needle at a newly opening tattoo shop.The mysterious artist, Talia, tattoos a cryptic design he’s never seen. Shortly after getting inked, compulsions burn underneath his skin. His need to satisfy a newly arisen addiction to self-mutilation begins a descent into darker places than his miserable life never dared go. Eventually, violence against himself is no longer enough to satisfy his cravings. The urge to commit the grotesque brings his brutal tendencies to others… To strangers, to acquaintances, to his prostitute ex-girlfriend…When Billy finds out his band replaced him, with a new vocalist singing his lyrics on stage, Billy’s desires reach their peak, and Talia, behind the fire of his rage, bears witness to all.

Synopsis / Amazon Product Description

I don’t know if I would have found this book if I wasn’t in the Splatterpunk FB group, and it certainly helped that the author is there, too. But, I must say, those guys DO know their horror, and have damn fine taste, so… it would have been mentioned. Either way, now I need to make sure you never wonder the same thing – you need to check out Daniel Volpe’s latest story ‘Billy Silver‘!

The story is dark, it’s gritty, and I kinda wanted to wash my hands when it was over. It’s the perfect backdrop for the characters you’re about to meet. You feel the loneliness, the abandonment, the despair… Hell, you almost feel the needle go into your arm! Perfect time to add a trigger warning, wouldn’t ya say? There is some intense addiction horror here, so blahbidy blahbidy trigger warning.

We interrupt this review with breaking news… I just learned that I’m not allowed to use Addiction Horror as a category. I like to make sure I save my drafts every couple minutes, and the latest draft would not save. “You are not allowed to assign those perimeters”… WTF? I back tracked and tested, and it’s those two words next to each other. Well. Alright. Apologies to Mark Mathews, I guess. This is weird, I used the term with Aron Beauregard recently with no trouble. This must be a new thing. I must research! (I can still say ‘fuck’, so I won’t go into panic mode just yet.) (and p.s., I love how this post’s tags read like ‘101 Reasons To Read This Book!’ ) Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming –

Where were we? So, after a particularly shitty night, Billy wakes up and those all too familiar feelings start crawling in… he needs to score, and soon. This time his hustle is… selling his skin! Lol, no! Not like that! He goes to a new tattoo shop that is about to open, and he is going to let an artist work on him so she can refresh her skills before the shop opens for business. (I’d do for a hundred bucks.) He can feel a difference in his body almost immediately. He’s essentially traded one addiction for another, but this new desire isn’t like any drug he’s ever done before. He doesn’t want the high. He wants pain. When he finally gets home and gives into the urges that overtake him, self-mutilation doesn’t even come close to describing the things he’s doing! He just fucking brutalizes his self, (loves it), but the violence and depravity can’t satiate the dark urges. He needs more – so he goes out and gets it!!

It’s 🎉 time for another warning! Yay! Some animal violence is hinted at in here, but it’s not bad. I don’t think it’s much to worry about, but blahbidy blahbidy trigger warning.

This is a great book, it’s different – no cookie cutter, or assembly line horror here. I love it! I’m excited to go pick up SCARED OF THE DARK, and BITS OF BONE. All three books are available on KU, so you can read for free if you’re a subscriber.

You can scoop up Billy Silver, and all of Daniel Volpe’s books on Amazon, and don’t forget to review them all on Goodreads, (and wherever else you post your reviews!)

Connect with Daniel Volpe via social media – Facebook @Daniel J. Volpe, and Instagram @dj_volpe_author

2020 may have been a dumpster fire of a year in every other aspect, but we’ve definitely gotten some great books to read! Extreme Horror has finally gotten some recognition. Books by new EH authors are flying off the shelves, and our favorite EH authors continue to disturb and terrify us in exciting new ways. I’m proud to be a member of this community, in good company with some truly outstanding people!

What book has made a definite impression on you this year? Talk to me! Post your answers, and whatever else you’d like, in the comments. Until next time – stay healthy, happy, and horrifying 👹

P, L & N 💕

sg

Celebrating National Metal Day!

Heavy Metal & Horror – A Match Made For Screaming!

Eleven is better – It’s one more!

Celebrating National Metal Day by watching horror movies is easy. It’s FUN, but the hardest part will be deciding what movie to watch FIRST. If you’re in a state where you’re still strongly encouraged to stay self-isolated, picking up a book and getting lost in a blend of music & madness sounds much more appealing! But – what to read? Here are a few choices…

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These are my choices for National Metal Day 🤘 What are you reading?

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We’ll be celebrating doubly hard since The Dark Defender & I Joined Forces nine years ago today.

Joined Forces 11/11/11

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If you don’t already have THE SCREAM by John Skipp & Craig Spector then this is the book you should pick up and start reading today. It’s HORROR. It’s SPLATTERPUNK. It’s ROCK AND ROLL.

^{Rock ‘n’ Roll. Hell. Two great tastes that taste great together. Long before Elvis gyrated on the Sullivan Show or the Beatles toiled the smoky red-light bars of Hamburg, music has been sowing the seeds of liberation. Or damnation. With each new generation the edge of rebellion pushed farther. Rhythms quickened. Volume increased. Lyrics coarsened. The rules continued to be broken, until it seemed that there were no rules at all.
And as waves of teens cranked it up and poured it on, parents built walls of accusation to explain their offspring’s seeming corruption. Sex and drugs, demon worship and violence are the effects. Music is the cause. Or so the self-styled guardians of morality would have us believe.
Meet The Scream. Just your average everyday mega-cult band. Their music is otherworldly. Their words are disturbing. Their message is unholy. Their fans are legion. And they’re not kidding. They’re killing. Themselves. Each other. Everyone. Their gospel screams from the lips of babes. Their backbeat has a body count. And their encore is just the warm-up act to madness beyond belief.
It emerged from a war-torn jungle, where insanity was just another word for survival. It arrived in America with an insatiable lust for power and the means to fulfill it. In the amplified roar of arena applause there beats the heart of absolute darkness}.

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As your punk rock horror hostess in this event, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to show you this ‘battle’ anthology!

• Thirteen Rounds. • Twenty Six Stories. • No Holds Barred.

Grab your guitars, turn the volume to eleven, and launch yourself into a world where heavy music rules over all!

Your teammates we will include 13 of these authors as you battle head to head for the Ultimate Title! David Owain Huges, Michelle Garza and Melissa Lawson – The Sisters of Slaughter, James H. Longmire, Dani Brown, Robert Holy, Andrew Freudenberg, Easel Pratt, Kitty Kane, Sebastian Crow, J.L. Lane, G.H. Finn, Jason Morton, Brian Barr, Michael Noe, Jim Richardson, Seth Moore, R.E. Lyons, Toneye Tyenot, William Bradley, John P. Collins Jr., Lucretia Stanhope, Brian Glossup, K. Trap Jones, Michael Fischer, and Jim Golforth.

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I love the vibe happening right now, so the 3rd place tie between THE RITUAL by Adam Neville and SHOCK ROCK edited by Jeff Gelb has just been broken! ROCK AND ROLL IS HERE TO SLAY …

The stars of shock fiction know what metalheads & moralists, punksters & preachers have known all along. Rock and roll. With its hot licks and raw glitter, has a dark side too – where the party stops and the terror begins.

Put on your headphones. Open this electrifying book. Rock to the world of horror where martyred musical super-legends return from the dead at 120 decibels… where radio stations sponsor ghastly giveaways that no living soul could want … where other-earthly pirates bootleg not records, but human souls… where people are strange … and the devil rocks all night.

THE NEW SOUND OF HORROR comes from Stephen King, F. Paul Wilson, David J. Schow, Nancy A. Collins, Ronald Kelly, Don D’Ammassa, Graham Masterton, Paul Dale Anderson, Michael E. Garrett, Brian J. Hodge, R Patrick Gates, Rex Miller, Bill Mumy & Peter David,R Richard Christian Matheson, Michael Newton, Mark Verheiden, Ray Garton, John L. Byrne, Thomas Tessier, and John Shirley.

Trespassers

by Jon Athan

WARNING: This novel contains graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.

A group of young drug addicts—led by drug dealer Jared Hatcher—plan to rob the wealthy Cohen family on Halloween to escape their dead-end town outside of Las Vegas. They devise the perfect plan with the perfect victims and the perfect getaway. But one act of violence quickly leads to another, triggering a chain-reaction of never-ending mayhem.

Can the desperate trespassers successfully complete their robbery and leave their lives of despair? Or will the fragile Cohens fight back and save themselves?

Jon Athan, the author of Lovesick and Into the Wolves’ Den, presents a bleak, disturbing, and gory home invasion novel—an unforgettable night of desperation and carnage.

Original Goodreads and Amazon reviews lost –

A perfect plan, with perfect victims and a perfect getaway goes horrifyingly wrong – bringing brutal, and bloody results.
If your “Perfect Team” happens to end up being just the opposite – maybe give it a minute to rethink things, instead of trying to keep them abord with threats and violence.
(I’d stab a bitch in the throat for questioning my loyalty once things get rolling, and if said bitch tried that in front of a victim… I might not stop there. Who’s loyal now? This lonely rich gal right here 😉).
<—– yeah… in my dreams, right?! That was a dream sequence, haha! But I’m a badass too when I’m in the middle of a story, yelling out at the characters!!!

TRESPASSERS is available on Amazon and KU

LIKE Jon Athan on Facebook, Goodreads & @Jonny_Athan on Twitter.

N IS FOR NIGHTMARE by Iain Rob Wright

N is for Nightmare by Iain Rob Wright
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Drugs are a bet with your mind.” ~ Jim Morrison

Finally home after an all night booze-and-drug-a-thon, Norman just wants to grab some post party food, (his mouth tastes like alcohol and bad decisions), and crawl into bed for the next 24 hours. The little girl carrying the dead cat might make sleep difficult for him though.
He’s not hallucinating, she’s standing right in front if him in her blue nightgown, and frizzy red hair. This isn’t something that Norman can wake up from, and his nightmare is only beginning.

View all my reviews

HEROIN IN THE MAGIC NOW by Terry M. West

“I gave my life away. And what’s left inside hurts me, most of the time.” ~ Gary Hack

I learned some important rules about porn from William Tea, and there’s one rule that stands out here –
Rule 34: ‘If it exists, there’s porn of it.’

Gary Hack was a well known, and respected director – at one time.
But, after diving head-first into the world that surrounds the adult film industry, he found that he wasn’t strong enough to break the surface and swim back home.
These days Gary just wades through his existence with opiate-dulled senses, and he lurks among the Night Things with hopeless abandon. His film career now consists of directing underground fetish / exploitation videos. A dark piece of monster porn that he directed has gained the attention of Mr. Johnny Stücke – an entirely new kind of monster. One that inspires fear in the hearts of men, and Night Things.
Johnny Stücke knows that The Night Things are going to start climbing out of the shadows, and they’ll soon be making their way up the financial food chain. When there is money being made, there’s money to be spent… Johnny sees what the future holds for monster porn, so he’s hiring infamous director Gary Hack to create the greatest fringe-fetish video of all time.

Visit The Official Lair of Terry M. West

HEROIN IN THE MAGIC NOW @ The Official Lair of Terry M. West

HEROIN IN THE MAGIC NOW on Amazon
HEROIN IN THE MAGIC NOW on Goodreads

TERRY M. WEST on Amazon
TERRY M. WEST on Goodreads

Gary Hack

Johnny Stücke

Spend Valentine’s with a Lucky Stiff ❣

Need some loving this Valentine’s Day? Looking for a hard body, and don’t care whether it’s dead or alive? Got an itch no one can seem to scratch? Well, I guarantee Peter Lyles will not only scratch that itch, but leave you itching for more! Join Tonia Brown and Peter Lyles (and me, of course!) as we spend Valentine’s weekend giving away his unlife story.
You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll get all worked up and might even have to change your undies.
He is just that good ❣

This Facebook event starts on February 14 at 12:00pm and will continue, hard & strong, until February 16 at 11:45pm ❣
The concept of this event is very simple: You get to spend a virtual weekend in the company of Peter Lyles. He has promised to slip away from his lady friends and spend the weekend answering all of your most intimate questions about his most intimate parts. All the while Tonia will give away free downloads of his undead story, Lucky Stiff: Memoirs of an Undead Lover.

❤ Take a look at the discussion of LUCKY STIFF on the Cover to Cover page ❤

Can’t wait to read it? Than go ahead and grab that bad boy by the horn! Tonia likes money, and you like hot, hot sexy sex. It’s a win-win!

˙·٠•●♥ ❤ Get LUCKY! Have a STIFF Valentine’s Day! ❤♥●•٠·˙

❤ Want to get to know Tonia a little better? See what she had to say when she joined us for BBB’s very first Coffee Talk author interview ~ Coffee with Tonia Brown ❤

MEAT by Justin Russell

Meat by Justin Russell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Clarence, an unemployed junkie, needs to find some quick cash before the last of his stash is used up. Finding quick cash is, fortunately, something that Clarence is still adept at. Tonight’s venture out wasn’t as lucrative as he’d hoped, but, hey… scoring some bottles of pills ain’t all bad! And, these extra needles will always come in handy…
When he wakes up next, the withdrawal sickness seems to be the least of his worries!
Here is an alternate cover I found, too…
image:

View all my Goodreads reviews
View all my Blog reviews – Cover to Cover – BBB Reviews

‘Hammered’ book trailer – from G.N.Braun

G.N. Braun is an Australian writer, and current president of the Australian H.W.A.
He writes fiction across various genres, but I found his short stories while searching for horror – big surprise, right? I found his work on Legumeman Books, and have recently (with help from our favorite author stalker – Suzanne) become friends with him on Facebook and Goodreads. You can download his short stories ‘Boneyard Smack’, ‘Bubba wants YOU’, ‘Insurrection’, free from Legumeman Books.
Obviously, I love his work – or you wouldn’t be reading this. I especially liked his dark & gritty short story, ‘Boneyard Smack’. I realized last night that my review/discussion was originally posted on my first book blog at ZF. (We all know that I didn’t back-up my reviews then, and I lost everything when the site closed.) I will be redoing that post soon, so be sure to watch for it!
Being such a fan of ‘Boneyard Smack’ is, I believe, what led me to want to read his memoir so bad. Ok, well… that and my own past struggle with opiates. Hammered: Memoir of an Addict was released in early 2012 by Legumeman Books.

(Taken from Geoff’s blog – ) Hammered is a memoir of G.N. Braun’s twenty-five+ years of drug abuse and addiction, and the way he finally clawed his way back to sobriety. It follows the descent into casual use of marijuana, through the years of speed use, and finally into the twelve years of opiate addiction.