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If I Die Before I Wake: Tales of the Otherworldly and Undead (The Better Off Dead Series) Paperback – June 13, 2021
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Sometimes, the dead do come back. Sometimes, they crave your flesh...and sometimes, they desire your very soul, but they aren’t the only thing you have to fear.
You don’t believe in what you can’t see, yet something is there, watching, waiting. You can feel its unholy intentions deep down in the marrow of your bones. You don’t know where it came from, but you know with every fiber of your being that it is not from this earth, and as you feel its gaze searing through your skin, you know the end just might be near.
It took its last breath, you watched the dirt being shoveled onto its coffin, yet there it is, standing before you, staring you down like you’re its next meal. It’s vicious and it’s evil and even though you know—you’re absolutely positive—that the abomination before you should be dead, somehow it’s not, and its ungodly eyes are focused on you.
The Otherworldly and Undead are out there and they are coming for you. When you run—and oh, will you run—you don’t need to be the fastest…you only need to be faster than the person beside you—at least until there is no one else left. Join us for the most terrifying stories of Otherworldly and Undead beings as they stalk and torment the living, feeding off their souls and their flesh before recruiting them to eternal damnation.
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!
Contains stories by Renee M.P.T. Kray, Jeremy Megargee, Scotty Milder, Steven Pajak, Barry Charman, Red Lagoe, Richard Clive, David A. Anthony, Kristal Stittle, Scott Harper, R.E. Sargent, LP Hernandez, and Bridgett Nelson.
Foreword by New York Times Bestselling Author Richard Chizmar.
- Print length342 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateJune 13, 2021
- Dimensions5.25 x 0.86 x 8 inches
- ISBN-101953112129
- ISBN-13978-1953112125
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Product details
- Publisher : Sinister Smile Press (June 13, 2021)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 342 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1953112129
- ISBN-13 : 978-1953112125
- Item Weight : 13.8 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.25 x 0.86 x 8 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #2,204,959 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,714 in Horror Anthologies (Books)
- #18,388 in Short Stories Anthologies
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors
Steven Pajak is the author of novels, such as the U.S. Marshal Jack Monroe series, the Mad Swine trilogy, as well as short stories and novellas. When not writing, Steven works as an administrator at a university and COO, Managing Editor and Creative Director for Sinister Smile Press.
He continues to be an avid reader of Stephen King and Dean Koontz, John Saul, Richard Matheson, and many other favorite authors in the horror, suspense, thriller and general fiction areas.
Steven lives in the Chicagoland area with his wife and two teens.
David Anthony grew up in southwest Michigan, but now resides in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and daughter. Having been a fan of dark fiction all his life, he now writes horror, sci-fi, and fantasy of the darker varieties. He is an avid reader, movie fan, and frequent traveler. His short stories can be found in several anthologies and magazines, and he is currently at work on his first novel. For more information check out his blog at www.davidaanthony.wordpress.com
Kristal Stittle was born and raised in Toronto, where she continues to live for most of the year. During the summer, she can be found around the woods and lakes of Muskoka, a favoured place by both her and her cat. She writes in all genres, and while she focuses on novels and short stories most of the time, she also dabbles with film scripts on occasion. A graduate of Humber College, trained as a 3D artist, she still enjoys painting as well as photography. Before actualizing her dream as an author, Kristal worked at both Blockbuster and Ubisoft, which appealed to her film and video game loving sides. You can frequently find her on Twitter, her current favourite social site.
Renee M.P.T. Kray grew up in Michigan with eight siblings and a small army of cats. Her love of stories went into maximum overdrive when she read The Lord of the Rings at age 10 and since then she’s spent her time obsessively scribbling story ideas into notebooks. After being homeschooled all through elementary and high school, she earned her BA in Literature from Ave Maria University and her MFA in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. However, none of these pursuits have been as challenging as trying to get her pug, Potato, to stop eating dirt.
When I was still a child and picked up my very first Goosebumps book by R. L. Stine, I knew I'd fallen head over heels in love with all things horror. It's a love affair that has only grown stronger over the years, a borderline obsession with stories that explore the darkest recesses of the human imagination. I guess you could say I'm like Thorny Rose in that way...always stalking down those special stories that have the ability to invoke a creepy-crawly feeling right down in the marrow of my bones.
As I grew older I discovered the work of some of my biggest inspirations like Stephen King, Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Clive Barker...and the work of those authors sent me deeper down the path of the macabre. During my teenage years I had the little tradition of reading Stephen King's The Stand each summer to lose myself in the devastation of the superflu and marvel at the sadistic magnetism of Randall Flagg.
I've devoured horror fiction for as long as I can remember and reading the words weaved by the greats of the genre inspired me to begin writing. I wanted the opportunity to tell my own tales with the intent to terrify, to disturb; to capture the morbid curiosity of the reader just as my own was caught so early on in life.
If I've managed to inspire some of those feelings in you, my readers, then I feel that I've accomplished something just a little bit magical. There's still some magic left in this world, and I think it's most powerful when manifested in the form of words scrawled across many blank pages. Granted any magic contained within my work will be of the dark variety...but I wouldn't want it any other way. ;)
I live in Martinsburg, West Virginia with my little old pug Cerberus. When I'm not writing, I enjoy hiking mountain trails, weight training, getting tattooed and being a garden variety introvert in his late 20s. Oh, and reading too (duh).
Connect with me online:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/JMHorrorFiction
Instagram: @xbadmoonrising
R.E. Sargent is the author of three novels, four novelettes, and many short stories in the genres of suspense, supernatural, and horror. He is also an editor and a publisher. He is an active member of the Horror Writers Association, the Alliance of Independent Authors, and the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses. His short story, “Lucy,” was featured in the 2021 Splatterpunk Award–nominated anthology If I Die Before I Wake Volume 3 – Tales of Deadly Women and Retribution.
R.E. lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and their Chocolate Lab. And the rain. Lots and lots of rain. He is thankful that writing is an indoor activity.
Find out more about R.E. at www.resargent.com.
LP Hernandez has been writing stories since he could hold a pen. Although he loves many genres, he is drawn to the dark and unknown. His work has been adapted by the NoSleep Podcast many times, and has been featured in anthologies such as A Monster Told Me Bedtime Stories, If I Die Before I Wake vol 5, A Pile of Bodies A Pile of Heads vol 2, and Lockdown Horror vol 1 among others. A revised and expanded edition of his first collection, Dreadful: Tales of the Dead and Dying will be released by Velox Books. His second collection, The Rat King, is fully illustrated and will be released in partnership with The NoSleep Podcast's Sleepless Sanctuary Publishing.
Scotty Milder is a writer, filmmaker, and film educator living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He received his MFA in Screenwriting from Boston University, and his award-winning short films have screened at festivals all over the world, including Cinequest, the Dead By Dawn Festival of Horror, HollyShorts, and the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival and CthulhuCon. His independent feature film "Dead Billy" is available to stream on Amazon.com and Google Play.
His short fiction has appeared or will appear in Dark Moon Digest, KZine, Lovecraftiana magazine, as well as anthologies from Dark Peninsula Press, Sinister Smile Press, Dark Ink Books, and others.
He teaches screenwriting and film production at Santa Fe Community College, Sol Acting Studios, and the Seattle Film Institute. He is also the co-host of "The Weirdest Thing" history podcast with actor/theatre artist Amelia Ampuero.
You can find him online at scottymilder.com or www.facebook.com/scottymilderwrites.
For a young Scott Harper growing up in 1970’s Southern California, the world was just a tad dull and unimaginative. He found a creative outlet in the world of Marvel Comics, fervidly devouring the monthly adventures of Iron Man, Hulk, and Captain America. Later, his tastes turned toward the Marvel black and white magazines’ more esoteric horror province, faithfully following titles such as Dracula Lives! and Tales of the Zombie. Influenced by these works and such great authors as Bram Stoker, John Steakley, and Marv Wolfman, Scott’s unique writing style combines horror and fantasy elements with superhero-style action. When not writing, Scott spends his time either reading, working out at the gym, adding to his model collection, or walking his two dogs. He lives in California with his wife and son.
Check out his web site at https://www.scottharpermacabremaestro.com/
Once an operating room registered nurse, Bridgett Nelson so enjoyed playing with human organs, she decided to turn her macabre interest into a horror writing career. She loves bubble baths (because nothing says spooooky writer like orange-scented bubbles), hates not knowing what’s swimming in the water with her, lives for Halloween season (but loathes chainsaw-wielding dudes in haunted houses), adores her West Virginia University Mountaineers, is very pro-Oxford comma, and thinks bananas are absolutely disgusting.
She was a 2022 Michael Knost "Wings" award nominee, and won second place (out of fourteen contestants) in the '22 Gross-Out contest at KillerCon in Austin, Texas.
Bridgett has contributed to multiple anthologies, including COUNTING BODIES LIKE SHEEP, edited by K Trap Jones. Her debut collection, A BOUQUET OF VISCERA, is available now!
More tidbits! Bridgett is a(n)…
HWA: WV Chapter co-chair. Editor. Audiobook proofer. Bookworm. Dog lover. Tarantula whisperer. Bra avoider. ENJF. Amaretto Sour obsessor.
Check out her website for more info.
www.bridgettnelson.com
Sinister Smile Press is a publisher dedicated to the publication of anthologies and collaborative novels focusing on themes of horror, supernatural, karma and vengeance. Creating nightmares is our business...and business is good!
Visit us at www.sinistersmilepress.com
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Made in Hell for its mashup of mafia, prison and the occult making for some quite memorable imagery.
Curiosity, which has a teasing, Twilight Zone style and excellent characterisation.
From the Red Dirt does a tremendous job of setting us in Depression era America. The voice of the young protagonist is wonderfully drawn and the story is tense and moving. A really excellent piece.
Thanks to Sinister Smile Press for allowing me to read an ARC of the collection
I haven't read the first four books, but after reading this one they're all on my "to-read" list.