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Shallow Waters Vol.1: A Flash Fiction Anthology (A Series of Supernatural Stories) Kindle Edition
Shallow Waters—where nothing stays buried.
With twenty-two dark tales diving beneath the surface of loss, love, and life.
Shallow Waters is the official monthly flash fiction challenge hosted by the award-winning Crystal Lake Publishing. Every month a new challenge is posted online, with authors submitting via email. The best submissions are then posted on Crystal Lake’s Patreon page, where patrons read daily entries and vote for the winner. What you’ll find in these Shallow Waters anthologies include 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 one includes horror, thrillers, suspense, and stories of love lost, death, 2nd chances, the monsters within, and the beauty beneath it all.
Introduction by Joe Mynhardt
“Closure on a Bed of Nails” by Chad Lutzke
“Fast Car” by Tracy Fahey
“Tears of Buddy” by Patrick R. McDonough
“Puzzle Pieces” by Armand Rosamilia
“Pretty Like Butterflies” by Tim Waggoner
“S1:E7” by Robert Ford
“Pain is Your Teacher” by Michael Harris Cohen
“Memory Lane” by Red Lagoe
“The Silence of the Sirens” by Loren Rhoads
“It’s Me Not You” by Jonathan Winn
“Sisters of Loss” by Mark Allan Gunnells
“Talisman” by Jezzy Wolfe
“The Melting of Your Gods” by Mercedes M. Yardley
“Charms” by Dino Parenti
“Not Your Average Monster” by Kenneth W. Cain
“Where the Children Run in Darkness” by Guy Medley
“Tunnels” by Tom Over (winner)
“The Truth about Dani” by Joe Mercer
“Baby Savannah” by M.J. Sydney
“Rats Scratched in the Linen Cupboard” by Dani Brown
“Raining” by John Boden
“The Death Experience” by L.A. Story
In this volume…
- Taunted by a cactus, a man copes with grief after the loss of his wife.
- Alondra DeCourval visits Franz Kafka’s grave to think about death.
- A lovestruck woman strives to connect with a man she’s convinced is The One.
- The perfect funeral for a child—all according to a Mother’s well-crafted plan. The exception is one small, unexpected development no one could have ever prepared for.
- A short meditation on the haunting nature of love and loss, and the aftermath of both.
- Victor’s sanity has been threaded together by the memory of his daughter’s voice, until now, when her laughter falls silent.
- An adrenaline junkie believes he can take on the ultimate challenge—coming back from the dead.
- Sisters share everything. The good...and the bad.
- Sometimes being a hoarder is dangerous...
- In our ever-changing world, what we view as a monster is constantly evolving…but at what cost?
- Buddy's heart aches for his family’s arrival.
- Bright colors may be beautiful, but sometimes they can be dangerous.
- Sometimes the darkness we harbor within is best left behind closed doors.
- Rats scratch in the children's ward.
- A surprise wedding present from daughter to father, built over a lifetime, reveals his true nature to all his guests.
- Can a mourning Mallory find comfort before she loses her mind?
- While coming to terms with the death of his mother a man learns that he harbours a strange ability, one that could threaten to tear his reality apart.
- A woman’s last letter to her abusive ex-husband returns the favor of his tutelage.
- Lillian’s search for her daughter’s doll leads her on a journey through tragedy, loss, and madness.
- The brutal murder a man's only child leaves him burdened with a question only he can answer.
Proudly brought to you by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths.
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateJune 24, 2019
- File size3632 KB
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From the Publisher

Take a Deep Breath and Dive Beneath the Surface of Shallow Waters—Where Nothing Stays Buried.
This series includes over 100 flash fiction stories by the likes of Chad Lutzke, Armand Rosamilia, Tim Waggoner, Robert Ford, Jonathan Winn, Mark Allan Gunnells, Jezzy Wolfe, Mercedes M. Yardley, Dino Parenti, Kenneth W. Cain, John Boden, Matt Shaw, Jess Landry, Dan Weatherer, Theresa Derwin, Monique Snyman, Richard Thomas, Jennifer Loring, Lee Murray, Kevin Lucia, Ben Lathrop, Lori Michelle, Jason Parent, Dave Jeffery, AJ Franks, Jonathan Fortin, R.B. Wood, Jay Bechtol, Robert W. Walker, Denver Grenell, Tom Deady, Taylor Grant, William Meikle, and many more.

Editorial Reviews
Review
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ "This series of Flash fiction horror anthologies offers up bite size scare snacks that thrill, chill and ultimately disturb. A must read."—Theresa Derwin
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ "Purely amazing and awesome!!! So many talented writers putting out wonderful flash fiction."—Miguel Bizarre
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ "There are horror stories with vicious twists, emotional narratives with surprising outcomes, and body horror that displays the grotesque and the unexpected."—Janie C.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ "Shallow Waters hit all the right notes as far as flash fiction goes. Stories that moved me, unnerved me and disgusted me all featured in this varied and quality collection."—The Grim Reader
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ "Creepy stories. These shorts really make going to bed fun."—Stephen, Goodreads review
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ "Each story is different, tackling a variety of themes and with a large number of varied protagonists and point of views. There are some nice twists contained, excellent dark imagery, and really spine-chilling tales to sink your teeth into."—Dead Head Reviews
Product details
- ASIN : B07TM7PYHJ
- Publisher : Crystal Lake Publishing (June 24, 2019)
- Publication date : June 24, 2019
- Language : English
- File size : 3632 KB
- Simultaneous device usage : Unlimited
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 92 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #13,847 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #14 in Horror Anthologies (Kindle Store)
- #57 in Fiction Anthologies
- #59 in Horror Short Stories
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors
Kenneth W. Cain is the author of four novels, four short story collections, four novellas, and several children’s books among his body of work. He is the editor for the anthologies Tales From The Lake Volume 5, When the Clock Strikes 13, and Midnight in the Graveyard. The winner of the 2017 Silver Hammer Award, Cain is an Active member of the Horror Writers Association as well as chair for the membership committee and the Pennsylvania chapter. Cain resides in Chester County, Pennsylvania with his wife and two children.
Website:
http://kennethwcain.com
Facebook Author Page:
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKennethWCain/
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/KennethWCain
Get updates on forthcoming books, find about giveaways, and get free stories by signing up for my newsletter:
http://eepurl.com/caUofP
Armand Rosamilia is a New Jersey boy currently living in sunny Florida, where he writes when he's not sleeping. He's happily married to a woman who helps his career and is supportive, which is all he ever wanted in life...
He's written over 200 stories that are currently available, including crime thrillers, supernatural thrillers, horror, zombies, contemporary fiction, nonfiction and more. His goal is to write a good story and not worry about genre labels.
He is also a successful podcaster, too!
The Mando Method Podcast with co-host Chuck Buda - talking about writing and publishing
He also loves to talk in third person... because he's really that cool.
You can find him at https://armandrosamilia.com for all of his information as well as random things he enjoys
and e-mail him to talk about books, baseball and Metal:
armandrosamilia@gmail.com
Robert Ford has written the novels Burner, The Compound, No Lipstick in Avalon, and Blood Roses, a horror-western. He also has a collection of his short fiction The God Beneath my Garden, a novella collection, Inner Demons, and the novella Larva Me Tender.
He collaborated, with John Boden, on the novellas Rattlesnake Kisses, Cattywampus, and Black Salve, in the Knucklebucket Thang series.
With author Matt Hayward, Robert co-wrote the novel A Penny for Your Thoughts.
Robert lives in Central Pennsylvania, and is usually hard at work on at least two projects at a time. You can find out more about his upcoming releases at www.robertfordauthor.com
In addition to Eidolon Avenue: The Second Feast (Best Horror Collection 2021 - Audiobook Reviewers Awards), Jonathan Winn is the author of Eidolon Avenue: The First Feast (“a great read…powerful and jarring,” Cemetery Dance), Martuk…the Holy (A Highlight of the Year, 2012 Papyrus Independent Fiction Awards) and Martuk…the Holy: Proseuche (Top Twenty Horror Novels of 2014, Preditors & Editors Readers Poll) as well as The Realtor: an Eidolon Avenue Short Story, part of a series of free reads from Crystal Lake Publishing, and The Martuk Series, an ongoing collection of short fiction inspired by Martuk....
His work can also be found in Horror 201: The Silver Scream, Writers on Writing, Vol. 2, Tales from the Lake, Vol. 2 with his award-winning short story Forever Dark, and Shallow Waters, an ongoing collection of flash fiction, all from Crystal Lake Publishing.
Feel free to visit him at http://martuktheholy.com
John Boden lives a stones throw from Three Mile Island with his wonderful wife and sons.
A baker by day, he spends his off time writing, working on Shock Totem or watching M*A*S*H re-runs.
He likes Diet Pepsi, cheeseburgers, heavy metal and sports ferocious sideburns.
While his output as a writer is fairly sporadic, it has a bit of a reputation for being unique.
M.J. Sydney is an all-things weird and twisted, horror-thriller-chiller writer living with a vampire, a werewolf, a Mogwai and various fairies, gnomes and woodland creatures in the Pacific Northwest.
Website ~ TheCrowsInMyAttic.blogspot.com
Facebook ~ facebook.com/WriterMJSydney
Google+ ~ google.com/+MJSydney
Twitter ~ twitter.com/MJSyd99
Suitably labelled “The Queen of Filth”, extremist author Dani Brown’s style of dark and twisted writing and deeply disturbing stories has amassed a worrying sized cult following featuring horrifying tales such as “56 Seconds”, “Becoming” and the hugely popular “Ketamine Addicted Pandas”. Merging eroticism with horror, torture and other areas that most authors wouldn’t dare, each of Dani’s titles will crawl under your skin, burrow inside you, and make you question why you are coming back for more.
Patrick R. McDonough is a writer, reviewer, and podcaster. He is the producer and one of the hosts of the Dead Headspace podcast.
Red Lagoe grew up on 80s horror and carried her paranoia of slashers and sewer creatures into adulthood.
When she’s not spewing her horror-ridden mind onto the page, or substituting at the elementary school like a normal upstanding citizen, Red enjoys amateur astronomy, and can be found lingering in the inky shadows among beasts for a better view of the stars.
Red's short story collection Lucid Screams released in February 2020. She is a staff writer for Crystal Lake Publishing's Still Water Bay series. Her stories have appeared in Dark Moon Digest, Sinister Smile Press's If I Die Before I Wake, volumes 1, 2, & 3, Crystal Lake Publishing’s Shallow Waters Volumes 1,2, 3&4, Trembling with Fear’s Year Two anthology, Owl Hollow Press’ Under the Full Moon’s Light anthology, and more. Her viral apocalypse novel Fair Haven released in 2017.
L.A. Story is a professional daydreamer and a naturalized Mississippian. She lives in an enchanted forest with her husband, a druid poet, and two dogs and one cat who believes they are the Keepers and we are the Pets. She lives near her four brilliant children, of whom she believes are scary smart with world domination potential. Among said children, two have managed to produce five grandchildren who are possessed of an equally frightening intellect.
L.A. has been creating stories in her head and attempting to put them on paper since she was old enough to hold a pencil. She has been an award-winning staff writer and columnist. Her poetry and fiction have also been widely published. She has been both a Rhysling and James Baker award nominee and a Darrell Award Finalist. She teaches poetry workshops for the Crossroads Poetry Project and is the former editor of the paranormal romance magazine -- Trysts of Fate (Alban Lake Publishing).
Tom Over is a reptilian limbic system currently manipulating a hominid cortex somewhere in Manchester, UK. The Comfort Zone and Other Safe Spaces is his first book. He is not on Twitter.
Praised by Robert Coover for being a “noir master” and Brian Evenson for writing “transgressive fiction at its uncomfortable best,” Michael Harris Cohen is a recipient of the New Century Writer’s Scholarship from Zoetrope: All-Story, a Fulbright grant for literary translation, and fellowships from the OMI International Arts Center for Writers, Atlantic Center for the Arts, The Djerassi Foundation, The Jentel Artist’s Residency, The Blue Mountain Center and the Künstlerdorf Schöppingen Foundation.
At Brown University he received the Weston Award for best graduate fiction manuscript. He’s also won the Modern Grimmoire Literary Prize as well as Mixer Publishing’s Sex, Violence and Satire prize.
Michael lives with his wife and two daughters in Sofia. He teaches creative writing and literature at the American University in Bulgaria. Occasionally he tweets @fictionknot
Read more at MichaelHarrisCohen.net
Since its founding in August 2012, Crystal Lake Publishing has quickly become one of the world’s leading publishers of Dark Fiction and Horror books in print, eBook, and audio formats.
While we strive to present only the highest quality fiction and entertainment, we also endeavour to support authors along their writing journey. We offer our time and experience in non-fiction projects, as well as author mentoring and services, at competitive prices.
With several Bram Stoker Award wins and many other wins and nominations, Crystal Lake Publishing puts integrity, honor, and respect at the forefront of our publishing operations.
We strive for each book and outreach program we spearhead to not only entertain and touch or comment on issues that affect our readers, but also to strengthen and support the Dark Fiction field and its authors.
Not only do we find and publish authors we believe are destined for greatness, but we strive to work with men and woman who endeavour to be decent human beings who care more for others than themselves, while still being hard working, driven, and passionate artists and storytellers.
Crystal Lake Publishing is and will always be a beacon of what passion and dedication, combined with overwhelming teamwork and respect, can accomplish. We endeavour to know each and every one of our readers, while building personal relationships with our authors, reviewers, bloggers, podcasters, bookstores, and libraries.
We will be as trustworthy, forthright, and transparent as any business can be, while also keeping most of the headaches away from our authors, since it’s our job to solve the problems so they can stay in a creative mind. Which of course also means paying our authors.
We do not just publish books, we present to you worlds within your world, doors within your mind, from talented authors who sacrifice so much for a moment of your time.
There are some amazing small presses out there, and through collaboration and open forums we will continue to support other presses in the goal of helping authors and showing the world what quality small presses are capable of accomplishing. No one wins when a small press goes down, so we will always be there to support hardworking, legitimate presses and their authors. We don’t see Crystal Lake as the best press out there, but we will always strive to be the best, strive to be the most interactive and grateful, and even blessed press around. No matter what happens over time, we will also take our mission very seriously while appreciating where we are and enjoying the journey.
What do we offer our authors that they can’t do for themselves through self-publishing?
We are big supporters of self-publishing (especially hybrid publishing), if done with care, patience, and planning. However, not every author has the time or inclination to do market research, advertise, and set up book launch strategies. Although a lot of authors are successful in doing it all, strong small presses will always be there for the authors who just want to do what they do best: write.
What we offer is experience, industry knowledge, contacts and trust built up over years. And due to our strong brand and trusting fanbase, every Crystal Lake Publishing book comes with weight of respect. In time our fans begin to trust our judgment and will try a new author purely based on our support of said author.
To date we’ve published around 100 books, and with each launch we strive to fine-tune our approach, learn from our mistakes, and increase our reach. We continue to assure our authors that we’re here for them and that we’ll carry the weight of the launch and dealing with third parties while they focus on their strengths—be it writing, interviews, blogs, signings, etc.
We also offer several mentoring packages to authors that include knowledge and skills they can use in both traditional and self-publishing endeavours.
We look forward to launching many new careers.
This is what we believe in. What we stand for. This will be our legacy.
Welcome to Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths.
Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more
Mark Allan Gunnells loves to tell stories. He has since he was a kid, penning one-page tales that were Twilight Zone knockoffs. He likes to think he has gotten a little better since then. He loves reader feedback, and above all he loves telling stories. He lives in Greer, SC, with his husband Craig A. Metcalf.
Chad has written for Famous Monsters of Filmland, Rue Morgue, Cemetery Dance, and Scream magazine. He's had dozens of short stories published, and some of his books include: OF FOSTER HOMES & FLIES, STIRRING THE SHEETS, THE PALE WHITE, SKULLFACE BOY, THE NEON OWL and OUT BEHIND THE BARN co-written with John Boden. Lutzke's work has been praised by authors Jack Ketchum, Richard Chizmar, Joe Lansdale, Stephen Graham Jones and his own mother.
He can be found lurking the internet at www.chadlutzke.com
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There wasn’t a “bad” story in the bunch, but there were a few that were okay. They weren’t standouts or spectacular, but they told a nice story. Several of the stories involved children that were not to my taste, but two stories stood out from the crowd.
Tears of Buddy by Patrick R. McDonough, will rip your heart out, stomp on it, and replace it only to do it again and again as you go about your daily life knowing the heart of this tale occurs daily.
Sisters of Loss, by Mark Allan Gunnells, presented a tale that has played out in courts and made headline news but explored the lengths a friend will go to in a personal light–one that will make a few readers thankful they don’t have close friends.
Overall, this is a well-edited and well-organized anthology. It is a short anthology and quick to read that I highly recommend for flash fiction readers who are looking for the darker side of life.
Joe Mynhardt has decided to create an anthology of all the top finalists to date. They may have not been the month’s winner, but they are still winning stories and deserve to be read by all. In Shallow Waters Vol.1 you will find tales of horror, thrillers, suspense, and so much more. Wicked twists and subtle nudges will have you wanting more. Since these stories are all short, I will not elaborate on any one of them, I will say though that I’ve read them all and had a hard time deciding just which one was the better one.
This is a great way to get to know some new authors or perhaps check out what else a familiar author has to offer in the way of storytelling. You really have to appreciate the talent it takes to put together a cohesive tale in just so many words.
Oh, and I do have to mention Ben Baldwin. What a brilliant book cover!
I look forward to future anthologies.