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 Crystal Lake Publishing, with authors submitting via email. 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. 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 (or gain access to our Still Water Bay series). Check out the Shallow Waters series page here on Amazon, where you’ll find volume 1 for free.

Volume six includes stories of Karma, travel horror, forgotten elder gods, being home alone or in lockdown, and a non-themed challenge.

Includes:
Introduction by Joe Mynhardt
“The Offering” by Denver Grenell
“We All Scream” by A.J. Franks
“Whittling” by Michael Harris Cohen
“Fall to Frost” by Jonathan Winn
“Meadow for The Birdmen” by Guy Medley
“The Mottled Path” by Jennifer Carstens
“Gandaberunda” by Richard Thomas
“Nothing in There” by J. Brian Reed
“Anything for the Cause” by Mark Allan Gunnells
“Father” by R. Leigh Hennig
“Rattled” by Madeline Mora-Summonte
“Judgment Call” by Erica Ruppert
“Molarthroat” by Jonathan Fortin
“Stupid Girl” by Michael Patrick Hicks
“Carmen’s a Bitch” by Mark Allan Gunnells
“Hot Broth on a Cold Winter’s Night” by R.B. Wood
“Neighborhood Watch” by L.F. Falconer
“Tea for Two” by Amanda Hard
“The Man Who Fell from the Sky” by Esteban Vargas
“How Lovely Are Thy Branches” by Theresa Derwin

In this volume…

• In the dishonest quiet of a hanging moon, two strangers wrestle with the horrifying consequences of a ravenous war.
• Sometimes the gods hunger for more than a sit-down meal.
• What if your new ‘god’ could do anything he wanted? What if he no longer allowed Christmas?
• Death was supposed to find the old woman forced to walk the mottled path.
• A grandfather has mere minutes to prepare his granddaughter for the arrival of the Old Gods and ensure the survival of the human race.
• A newly single woman celebrates her divorce with an impromptu drive north, but the woods hold horrors worse than her failed marriage.
• Peter knows the President has to be stopped, but to what lengths will he go to accomplish this?
• She’d never let her boy starve twice.
• How many ways can evil enter your house?
• With help from her Stuffies, young Emmy organizes a tea party that guarantees to put her back in the family spotlight.
• Sometimes, what’s outside the box is scarier than what's hiding inside.
• Hear the song once, the cold sets in, he now lives underneath your skin. After hearing a disturbing song, a boy falls victim to the town’s mythical predator, The Ice Cream Man.
• Paul isn't sure why, but his teeth are getting bigger every day. And so is his appetite...
• A lost whaler finds himself on a deserted island, but something is clearly amiss...
• Rosemary finds an old abandoned car seat that might have more life in it yet.
• Sometimes they hide in plain sight, where nothing is secret.

Since its founding in 2012, Crystal Lake’s authors, books, artists, and editors have walked away with dozens of prestigious awards and nominations. That’s quality guaranteed. Welcome to Crystal Lake Publishing – Tales from The Darkest Depths.