But Button was only dimly aware of the sounds. Her consciousness had shrunk down to focus on the body that was blocking her hole— —and the warm, thick liquid that was dripping onto her hand.” Button is an 11 year old, bubbly and intelligent girl who is haunted in her dreams by a tapping sound… Living with her mother and father in Cottsborough, Vermont, Button had been trained to hide and not ever answer to her secret name, ‘Rachel’. One day, two men arrive at Button’s family home searching for her by this secret name. Refusing to give Button up, things turn violent and the men shoot her father dead. Through a narrow crack in the floor boards, Button bears witness to the murder. Eluding the two men who tried to catch her, Button uses her wits to navigate herself from Vermont to Boston and then to New York. Button has a plan to find her uncle Dromkin. When her search seems hopeless, Button is taken in by a resident of her uncle’s apartment building, Phil, who claims he can help. But when they find Dromkin sprawled on the floor with his throat cut, Button is convinced she is somehow the cause of these family murders... Will Phil be able to keep her identity hidden long enough for her to find out the truth? Praise for Michael Kurland: "A perfect tale of childhood terror." - Tom Kasey Michael Kurland grew up in New York City, attended Columbia University, spent four years in the Army, much of it in Europe, and now lives in California with his partner, novelist Linda Robertson, a dog, a cat, and an occasional visiting family of raccoons. He has been a teacher of obscure subjects to disinterested children, the editor of a magazine even more idiosyncratic than himself, a seeker of absent persons, a magical explainer, and guest lecturer at numerous unrelated events. Kurland has written a dozen or so science fiction novels, a brace of mysteries, and several books that fit into that tenuous genre known as “mainstream.” He has been nominated for an Edgar (twice) and for the American Book Award. His books have been translated into eleven other languages. His other novel with Venture Press is Psi Hunt.

    Sandra Fischer relaxes in bed. Moments later, when her husband enters the room — she is dead. One by one, the women are dying. The leading medical experts are baffled. There is only one clue: the rich, sweet scent of the tropics — the scent of life, seconds after each woman's shocking death.One dedicated doctor. One beautiful woman. Together they will enter an awesome new realm of medical knowledge beyond both life and death. For he will discover a terrifying secret. And she has been chosen for … THE SEEDING.

    

    Until it wasn't. When Hayden Stone, on the way to visit his brother in New York, makes a late night stop at a lonely gas station, he has no idea his life is about to change forever. After collapsing on the way back to his car, he wakes up to a frightening new world. No electricity, no TV, no internet. Even his car won't start. But that's not all. People are changing, becoming mindless killers. And worse, there are other things out there, lurking in the blackness. Monsters that should not exist. Now Hayden, and a ragtag group of dazed survivors, must pull together to achieve the impossible.. stay alive. Get ready for a heart pounding, hair raising, fight for survival that will keep you guessing until the very end. Book one in the Remnants trilogy. Book two will be available Spring 2017.

    

     Hunters come in droves but the beast proves itself too big and too cunning, using its fearsome teeth and claws to destroy the intruders. Many die and blood is spilled by the gallon, but has the beast met its match when a park ranger, an average joe, and a trail expert come together to predict where the beast will attack next?

    Doc Morrison, a renowned geologist, is called in to help investigate what could be the collapse of the largest cavern known to man. Doc and his graduate student protégés, Libby and Peter, join a team from Brazil to explore the site. Deep in the remote jungles of South America, the team, including an elite unit of Brazilian soldiers, is soon set upon by creatures none of them could have ever imagined. Separated in small groups, they must face their fears and summon the strength to fight for their lives in the hope of getting a warning out about this terrifying new threat to mankind.

    Although In Darkness Waiting begins in much the same vein as many horror novels (mysterious deaths; a small town invaded by evil; plucky, attractive young lovers; the logical level-headed doctor; some salt-of-the-earth townsfolk...) by its end you will have discovered it is not "just another horror novel." With its exploration of the "insect" inside us all, In Darkness Waiting proves more relevant today than ever. Considering a read of In Darkness Waiting is like considering a trip through the Amazon with no weapons and no vaccinations and no shoes. It's like contemplating a journey in the Arctic clad only in your underwear. Or maybe it's more like dropping into one of those spelunker's challenges, those chilling pitch-black shafts into the Earth's crust-and when you get down there your light burns out and you remember the chitinous fauna of the cavern... Unlike undertaking those endeavors, you can get through the harrowing pages of In Darkness Waiting alive (although we are not promising you'll remain unscathed.) Towards the end you'll discover one of the most extreme yet literate passages ever written. It may well be the most outré scene ever created. But John Shirley wasn't after shock alone. Shock is never enough for him.

    The survivors fight to stay alive and regroup as the terrible storm buries them in snow. Only then do they discover the train also carried another cargo—two cars loaded with biological experiments—genetically-altered sasquatches conditioned to annihilate anything they find. Can the few remaining soldiers team with a pair of sisters and a police constable to fight the relentless beasts, icy temperatures, and escaped prisoners long enough for help to arrive? "... a fresh take on a classic legend, full of suspense and action. This one had me on the edge of my seat and loving the characters." — Michael D. Nadeau, author of The Darkness Returns (A Lythinall novel) Book 1 "Cryptid lovers rejoice, for you have found the author who will lead you to an action-packed adventure that you will ignore family to read." — Jonathan Lazar, Author of Zachariah Lars and the High Elf Mystery “For those of us who grew up on Saturday morning creature features and painstakingly tuned-in to horror hosts using our dented and bent rabbit-ear antennas, Matt Betts delivers all the goods and more. WHITE ANVIL is packed with the excitement and atmosphere, but it also has what so many stories lack: Believable characters behaving rationally as they do their best to survive in the face of unexpected terror. — Dan Stout author of Titanshade “...an action-packed adventure that you don’t want to miss.” — Sara Tantlinger, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Devil’s Dreamland

     “Holy --- Steve, the Taser’s not stopping him!” “It has to! Nobody can take that. Hit him again!” “Look out! Here he comes!” Ron charged again, powering his way past the jolts of pain. He smashed into the nearest intruder with bone-jarring force, grappling with him, tearing at him. The struggle intensified as the two rolled around on the alley’s blood-soaked cobblestones. The second creature joined in the battle, striking at his head with a hard stick in an effort to aid his comrade. Ron laughed. The intruders were pathetically weak. He could sense it. He snatched the light from the closer one and backhanded him across the face with it, sending him sprawling. Then he turned toward the other one. He was stumbling backward, clawing at his hip, and obviously terrified. Amused, Ron turned away and focused on the one on the ground. He took a deep whiff, smelling the hot blood that ran in rivulets from the downed newcomer’s brow, and listened to the jackhammer beating of his heart. More food. THE DEADLIEST KILLERS ARE THE ONES YOU CAN'T SEE. Three weeks have passed since the monstrous Kronosaurus imperator’s attack on Harcourt Marina stunned the world. The death toll was horrific, but Paradise Cove’s traumatized survivors soon discover they have more to worry about than just burying their dead and rebuilding their shattered lives. Accompanying the pliosaur were hordes of primeval pathogens. With their host destroyed, the Cretaceous-era bacteria are forced to find new homes for themselves. They do: tiny, bipedal life forms whose warm, iron-rich blood provides perfect growing conditions. They begin to multiply and spread, their mutagenic qualities quickly warping their unwitting host’s delicate bodies and minds. Soon, the infected are transformed into mindless beasts, consumed with a burning hunger for flesh. And like all ravening beasts, they must feed . . .

    Army Ranger, until an unfortunate incident forced him out of the service. He is soon hired by the Foundation for Undocumented Biological Investigation and given a new mission, to search for cryptids, creatures whose existence has not been proven by mainstream science. Teaming up with the daring and beautiful wildlife photographer Karen Thatcher, they must stop a sea monster's deadly rampage along the Jersey Shore. But that's not the only danger Rastun faces. A group of murderous animal smugglers also want the creature. Rastun must utilize every skill learned from years of fighting, otherwise, his first mission for the FUBI might very well be his last.

    One night. No hope. Damaged property.Mauled animals.Mutilated bodies.There's something on the loose, prowling the dense forests of the Ozarks, leaving a trail of horror and devastation in its wake and striking fear deep in the hearts of all who live there.A monster, they say. A behemoth creature with long teeth and sharp claws.On a cold November night, three men head out into the dark wilderness, searching for the beast, hoping to take it down before it kills again. But as the men are pushed to their limits, they're left wondering if they'll survive the hunt......or will they have to sacrifice themselves in order to save the lives of others?

    Two overnight campers go missing, but before the rangers can investigate, shady Homeland Security agent Glen Larsson arrives to close the park due to a purportedly imminent red tide. Things quickly escalate out of control when mercenaries arrive to back up Larsson and imprison the rangers. Larsson’s plan is to free a cast of giant crabs to overrun the park, and then Florida beyond. It’s up to Kathy and Nathan to escape the fort, and then, with the help of an old Coast Guard vet and a scientist with inside knowledge of the plot, to save millions of innocents from rampaging giant crabs. But Larsson’s evil plan has been decades in the making, and the crabs seem indestructible. It will take courage, teamwork, and perhaps the ultimate sacrifice, to avert disaster.

    at the young callow age of eighteen.Then he lost her, thought her gone forever, for four long years.Until she comes back, and she turns his life upside down. Of course, turning his life upside down is nothing compared to what she’s going to do to the rest of the world. The singularity has arrived, join Paul as he discovers how wonderful and exciting that can be… and how horrifying.Warning: This book contains adult situations and explicit scenes of an erotic nature. This is the first book of a harem trilogy. This book is told in the first person, from Paul’s perspective.