A Hacked-Up Holiday Massacre: Halloween Is Going to Be Jealous (34 page)

7:01 PM

THEY WERE RIGHT. THEY were always right. The world is a horrible place. It’s just that no one can see it. But now The Complex has opened their eyes. It’s opened mine.

This is The Last Year. God help us all.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

AJ Brown
lost his sanity some years ago when he penned his first story based on a nightmare he once had. From that point on, he wrote anything that wished to be written, the stories telling themselves more than him. Some of his works have appeared in Necrotic Tissue, Allegory, Bards and Sages Quarterly and Dark Distortions anthology among others.

John Bruni’s
work has appeared most notably in SHROUD, CTHULHU SEX MAGAZINE, TRAIL OF INDISCRETION, TALES OF THE TALISMAN, and a number of others including the critically acclaimed anthology from Comet Press, VILE THINGS. He was the editor of TABARD INN: TALES OF QUESTIONABLE TASTE. He lives in Elmhurst, IL and can be found at
www.talesofunspeakabletaste.blogspot.com.

Chris Lewis Carter
was born and raised in Newfoundland, Canada, where he currently lives with his wife, Melissa. His work has been featured in 3AM Magazine, Nelson Literacy 8, The Cuffer Anthology: Volume Two, Word Riot, and four Pill Hill Press anthologies. He is working on his first novel, and can be reached at
[email protected]
. Fun Fact: He isn’t crazy about tomatoes.

Lesley Conner
lives near Hagerstown, MD with her husband and their two daughters. She avoids the woods. To see if she ever conquers her fear, or she stays smart (and alive?) by staying inside, check out her blog at
www.lesleyconner.com
.

Emma Ennis
grew up in Ireland with the Leprechauns, or so her vertically challenged family are known. She has always dreamed of being a writer…that and someday getting her legs lengthened. For more information about Emma, visit her blog at
http://authoremmaennis.blogspot.com
.

Marie Green
lives in the town of Colorado Springs, Colorado, nestled against the Rockies. A lover of music, animals and writing, she is a student of British Literature, Creative Writing and Drama. She toured London and Stratford in 2010 where she attended workshops on Literature and Theatre. A writer of Psychological Horror, Marie also writes Creative Nonfiction and Paranormal stories, as well.

Boyd E. Harris
is the publisher of and an editor for
Cutting Block Press
(
www.cuttingblock.net
), a company specializing in horror anthologies. His books
, +Horror Library+ Volume 3
and
+Horror Library+ Volume 4
, earned nominations for the
Bram Stoker Award
for best anthology. Boyd is also a two time
Black Quill Award
winning editor. A writer at heart, Boyd has had dozens of stories published in various anthologies and magazines, and hopes to spend more time exploring horror fiction through his own pen.

Kirk Jones
is an instructor of humanities for the SUNY system. His work appears in The New Flesh: Episode I, Technicolor Tentacles, Told You So, and Unicorn Knife Fight. His first book, Uncle Sam’s Carnival of Copulating Inanimals, was published by Eraserhead Press imprint, NBAS, in 2010.

Jack Ketchum’s
first novel,
Off Season
, prompted the Village Voice to publicly scold its publisher in print for publishing violent pornography. He personally disagrees but is perfectly happy to let you decide for yourself. His short story The Box won a 1994 Bram Stoker Award from the HWA, his story Gone won again in 2000 -- and in 2003 he won Stokers for both best collection for Peaceable Kingdom and best long fiction for Closing Time. He has written twelve novels, arguably thirteen, five of which have been filmed --
The Girl Next Door, Red, The Lost, Offspring
and
The Woman,
written with Lucky McKee. His stories are collected in The Exit at Toledo Blade Boulevard, Peaceable Kingdom, Closing Time and Other Stories, and Sleep Disorder, with Edward Lee. His horror-western novella
The Crossings
was cited by Stephen King in his speech at the 2003 National Book Awards. He has been elected Grand Master for the 2011 World Horror Convention.

Originally a part-time independent filmmaker and screenwriter,
Matt Kurtz
decided to narrow his creative energy to focus more on short stories and future novels. He writes twisted tales for fun from somewhere within the state of Texas. His fiction can be found in anthologies from Pill Hill Press, Blood Bound Books, Comet Press and Necrotic Tissue Magazine.

Joe R.
Lansdale is the author of novels, short stories, screenplays and comic scripts. His work has been filmed and adapted to comics, and he has received the Edgar Award, Eight Bram Stokers, The Grinzani Cavour Prize for literature, and numerous other literary recognitions. His novella BUBBA HOTEP was made into the cult film of the same name, and his short story INCIDENT ON AND OFF A MOUNTAIN ROAD was part of the MASTERS OF HORROR SERIES on SHOWTIME.

Steve Lowe
is a former sports writer with the South Bend Tribune, and an occasional stringer for the Associated Press. These days, instead of sports he writes weird, dark, occasionally humorous fiction which contains slightly more made-up content than his sports stories. His first book,
Muscle Memory
, was released in October 2010 as part of the New Bizarro Author Series from Eraserhead Press. His second book,
Wolves Dressed as Men
, came out in November 2010 from Eternal Press. His short fiction has appeared in the print anthologies Dead Bait and Toe Tags II, and on websites like Drabblecast, Three Crow Press, Unicorn Knife Fight, and Liquid Imagination, among others.

Shane McKenzie
is the head editor and co-owner of Sinister Grin Press. His work can be found in various anthologies. He has a story in Cutting Block Press’ Horror Library Volume 5, and has multiple books coming out soon from Deadite Press. Come say hello at
www.shanemckenziewriter.blogspot.com.
If you don’t, he will destroy you.

John McNee
is employed as a reporter for a local newspaper on the west coast of Scotland. He also writes horror. He is a firm believer that the maxim “truth is stranger than fiction” only applies to those suffering from a severe lack of imagination. His work appears elsewhere in the anthologies Ruthless, DOA, Steamy Screams and Gospels of Blood, Psalms of Despair, as well as in the online and print versions of Sex and Murder magazine.

Elle Richfield
is primarily an alternative singer-songwriter exploring the darker side of existence, but like many others of the download era, chewed up and spat out by the music industry. Currently delving into script writing for film and more story telling.

Ty Schwamberger
is growing force within the horror genre. He is the author of a novel, multiple novellas, collections and editor on several anthologies. In addition, he’s had many short stories published online and in print. Two stories, ‘Cake Batter’ (released in 2010) and ‘House Call’ (currently in pre-production in 2011), have been optioned for film adaptation. He’s also the Managing Editor of The Zombie Feed, an imprint of Apex Publications. You can learn more at:
http://tyschwamberger.com
.

Patrick Shand
worked on the official comic book continuation of Joss Whedon’s “Angel” with IDW Publishing. His Angel story, “My Only Friend,” appeared in their “Angel: Yearbook” in May 2011. He’s also published short stories in various literary magazines and anthologies, in addition to writing plays that have been produced in New York City.

Elias Siqueiros
was born and raised in El Paso TX. He has most recently published in The Harrow, Fantastic Horror, and will have a short story of his appear in Tattered Souls Vol. 2 by Cutting Block Press.

Nate Southard’s
books include
Scavengers
,
Red Sky
,
Just Like Hell
,
Broken Skin
,
This Little Light of Mine
, and
He Stepped Through
. His short fiction has appeared in such venues as
Cemetery Dance
,
Black Static
,
Thuglit
, and the upcoming anthology
Supernatural Noir
. A graduate of The University of Texas with a degree in Radio, Television, and Film, Nate lives in Austin, Texas. You can learn more at
natesouthard.com
.

Lee Thomas
is the Bram Stoker Award and Lambda Literary Award-winning author of STAINED, PARISH DAMNED, THE DUST OF WONDERLAND, and the critically-acclaimed short story collection IN THE CLOSET, UNDER THE BED. Recent and forthcoming titles include THE GERMAN, SWALLOWED BY THE CRACKS, THE BLACK SUN SET, FOCUS (co-written with Nate Southard), and TORN. You can find him on the web at
www.leethomasauthor.com

Lee Thompson
has work in Delirium Books, Shock Totem, Dark Discoveries and other places that’ll get under your skin. His fiction is like a dark Twilight Zone meets Alfred Hitchcock Mystery. Check out sexy pics of him online:
http://leethompsonfiction.com

Kevin Wallis
dedicates this story to AJ Brown, Lee Thompson and Steve Lowe, who have inspired and mentored him, and whose work he is honored to accompany in this book. He is forever grateful to these men, even though they continue to be shamefully jealous of Kevin’s virility and testicular fortitude. Kevin’s first collection of dark fiction, “Beneath the Surface of Things”, can be found at Amazon and Bards & Sages Publishing.

Wrath James
White is a former World Class Heavyweight Kickboxer, a professional Kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts trainer, distance runner, performance artist, former street brawler and professional bad-ass who is now known for creating some of the most disturbing works of fiction in print. Wrath’s most recent books are PURE HATE, THE REAPER, SKINZZ, and LIKE PORNO FOR PSYCHOS. He is also the author of THE RESURRECTIONIST, YACCUB’S CURSE, SUCCULENT PREY, EVERYONE DIES FAMOUS IN A SMALL TOWN, THE BOOK OF A THOUSAND SINS, HIS PAIN, and POPULATION ZERO. He is the co-author of TERATOLOGIST co-written with the king of extreme horror, Edward Lee, ORGY OF SOULS co-written with Maurice Broaddus, HERO co-written with J.F. Gonzalez, and POISONING EROS co-written with Monica J. O’Rourke. Wrath lives and works in Austin, Texas with his two daughters, Isis and Nala, his son Sultan and his wife Christie.