It was all in the name of science. Now someone has to clean up the mess.

Stan Armstrong dedicated his entire life to science. Branded as a maverick and a risk-taker by his colleagues, his unorthodox experiments and outlandish theories of time and space resulted in loss of funding and ultimately, his termination from tenure at the university where he’d spent his entire career.

Stan’s insatiable quest to explore extreme hypotheses and to prove the unproven were matched only by his neurotic lust to peel back the mysterious layers of time and space to expose the hidden secrets of the universe. Determined to continue his work at all costs, he uproots the life he once knew, liquidates his assets and builds his own lab on a desolate twenty-four-acre rural property in Devil’s Gulch, Utah, no longer bound by government regulation or the prying eyes of small-minded administrators.

Whether born from his profound love for science, or his enormous ego, Stan unintentionally unleashes something sinister in Devil’s Gulch—something that was never meant to walk this Earth.

Sinister Smile Press presents Devil’s Gulch, a horror novel written by Claire Brown, Matthew A. Clarke, T.M. Morgan, Chris Wilkerson, Chisto Healy, Kayla Krantz, Jon Miller, T.M. Brown, Mark Young, Bridgett Nelson, R.E. Sargent and Steven Pajak.

★Nominated for Best Anthology for the 2021 Splatterpunk awards★

Go ahead, run. Hide, even. No matter. There’s no place you can go that she won’t find you.

A woman scorned. The sanctity of her sanctuary threatened. The betrayal of trust…even loyalty. Don’t ever tell her not to take it personally, because that’s exactly what it is. Personal. Your first blunder was mistaking her kindness for weakness. Your second was betraying her. The third? Underestimating her. Don’t say we didn’t warn you. Take the plunge into these tales of deadly women who will stop at nothing until vengeance is theirs.

The Better Off Dead series delves into the farthest corners of your mind, where your deepest, darkest fears lurk. These masters of horror will haunt your dreams and stalk your nightmares, taking you to the edge of sanity before pushing you to the brink of madness!

With stories by Steven Pajak, Cara Fox, Chris Contreras Bahnsen, Scotty Milder, J.H. Moncrieff, Scott Harper, Bridgett Nelson, Spencer Richard, Mark Young, Claire Brown, Nikkolas James, Lee Rozelle, Natalie Sierra, R.E. Sargent, Red Lagoe and Renee M.P.T. Kray.

Foreword by award winning author J.H. Moncrieff.

Take a Deep Breath and Dive Beneath the Surface of Shallow Waters—Where Nothing Stays Buried.

With 20 Dark Fiction & Horror tales diving beneath the surface of life, death, and the mystery that lies beneath.

Shallow Waters is the official monthly flash fiction challenge hosted by the multiple award-winning Crystal Lake Publishing (including the HWA’s Specialty Press Award). Every month a new challenge is issued online and via our newsletter. The best submissions are then posted on Crystal Lake’s Patreon page (an exclusive behind the scenes community of readers and authors), where patrons read daily entries and vote for the winner every month.

What you’ll find in these Shallow Waters anthologies include the winners as well as the most popular of our finalists. Stay tuned for more volumes in this series, or find Crystal Lake Publishing on Patreon to enter or vote on future challenges.

Volume 8 includes:
Introduction by Joe Mynhardt
Prior to Slaughter by AJ Franks (winner)
A Quick Trip to the Liquor Store by Denver Grenell
The Boohag by Linda J. Marshall
Monsters by Justin Boote
Mr. Giggles by Nikki R. Leigh
Natural Selection by Mark Allan Gunnells
The Riverfront by Jay Bechtol (winner)
Allie’s New Crayon by Red Lagoe (winner)
Roadside Believer by Ben Norris
Heart’s Break by Jonathan Winn
Dance Faster, Carmelita by Sunni Ellis
Hello by Karen Bayly
#Camping by Lee Smart
Gone Fission by Amanda Hard
Reaching Out by Jeremy Megargee (winner)
Double Feature by Denver Grenell
Preparation by Claire Brown
A Cunning Plan by R. B. Wood
Wifely Duties by D.C. Phillips
All We Endure by Grant Longstaff (winner)

Come Dive Beneath the Surface!

Proudly brought to you by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths.