Then the bottom dropped out of civilization. The world ends not with a bang or a whimper, but with a dizzying downward spiral. Instead of the rat race of commuters scurrying to beat the clock, humans are now packs of animals reduced to snarling primitives. David, Tracy and their daughter Emily, along with fellow survivors, leave Los Angeles for the safety of the country where fewer people means fewer primitives. But as they venture farther away from the city, they realize an unnatural force is at work. Civilization didn't just fall apart...it was overtaken by an ancient evil that was present before the first cave paintings. Human history has no formal record of it, but the dark presence that's fueled nightmares since time began has crept out of the shadows...and its influence is growing.

    Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear."After a political protest is hijacked by anarchists, mob mentality takes over and violent riots start breaking out in many of our major cities.At the same time, part of the west coast is trying to recover from a series of devastating earthquakes, severe drought, and widespread wildfires.These, nearly simultaneous events, cause a record drop in our modern-day stock market, and due to a national debt of over $28 trillion, the value of the dollar is on the edge of collapsing causing massive layoffs to start taking place across the country. Our enemies see our weakness and know it's time to try and take their place as world leaders, but they know they must find a way to neutralize our military strength. Two countries have come up with a way to do just that and have set everything into motion. Vince and Kim Johnson live on a farm 40 miles to the southeast of Kansas City, Missouri.After serving 17 years in the Army, due to an injury, Vince had to take early medical retirement. Now, the most he thinks he must fight is his ongoing pain. Little does he know that a chain of events is about to take place that will test all his training and leadership skills.They are reunited with family, inexperienced friends, plus four of the men Vince served with while in the Army, to prepare and try to survive what might be the start of the actual apocalypse.*ADVISORY: Our three-book series isn't for everyone as it's intentionally written to be a bit provocative, and contains some adult language.

    In New York, writer David Blake is studying the methods of miracle healer Jonathon Mathias. Driven by their own desperate motives, these researchers are about to unlock Pandora's Box.

    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.

    It’s a tale of the drive to get home come hell or high water. I’m writing it about the way I myself would get home after an event. I can only hope I would do as well in real life.I have the will and the drive and know how but maybe the ol body is low on fuel. Time will tell.

    Following the signs of a faltering economy and a nagging in her Spirit to return to her family farm, Emma begins rebuilding a life independent from The Grid and away from her high stress corporate job.Is it any wonder that when a localized Electromagnetic Pulse is detonated over the New Madrid Fault Line and The Grid is taken down, that Emma immediately goes into action? Well, at least until Senator Varga and her personal Army shows up at Emma’s door. That is one curve ball that Emma was not expecting.Calling her fellow Prepper Chicks into action, follow along as a Modern Day Underground Railroad is formed, a long forgotten way of life is pulled back into action and they all adjust to A World without Rule of Law.

     We hear with increasing frequency, reports of mass shootings or terrorist activities on American soil. Don’t you get tired of the media sensationalizing everything? Do you hate how the police have their hands tied on how they can react, by politicians who are more worried about political correctness, and getting re-elected? Don’t you fantasize about just giving the bad guys what they have coming to them? That’s what this story is about. It’s guaranteed to offend the crap out of some people! It’s not illegal to fantasize in this country… Yet. -Rated R by us, for language and violence-

    They wait till you're asleep. They rise in the dead of night to feast on your blood. They can multiply by the hundreds in less than a week. They are one of the most loathsome, hellish species to ever grace God's green earth. Thought to be eradicated decades ago, thanks to global travel they're back. And with them comes a nightmare beyond imagining. Bed bugs. Infected with a plague virus so deadly it makes Ebola look like a summer cold. One bite turns people into homicidal maniacs. Now they're in Chicago. And migrating to all points north, south, east, and west. The rest of the world is already itching. The U.S. government and the CDC are helpless to stop it. Only one man knows what's causing the epidemic. And the powers-that-be want him dead.

    It also contains one story from the Vampire's Prey series and one unique story called The Body Farm.Deadlocked : Broken Pieces Vol 1 contains the following short stories.Dial Tone: This story picks up from the beginning of the outbreak and tells Laura's story. In this short story, you'll learn about what she and the girls went through that forced them onto the roof of their house, waiting for David to come home.Just a Secretary: This story is about Gloria and Jerry from David's office building. They try to escape the building, but get caught by a character that plays a big part in Deadlocked 3.The Getaway: When David leapt from the billboard into the Everland River, he emerged only to be smacked on the head by a boat that was being chased by the police in the pontoon. This story explains who that was, and why he was running.Batting Average: William and his son, Billy, have been protecting their salvage yard ever since the outbreak of the zombie apocalypse. Moments before they discover David on their beach, William sits back and enjoys a soda with his son who he is afraid he'll lose soon.Love Letter: A note that Laura wrote to David after the events at the end of Deadlocked. This letter technically should be part of Deadlocked Broken Pieces Volume 2, but I thought it fit better here.Also included in Broken Pieces are a couple of short stories that are not from the Deadlocked Universe. The first, The Summoner and the Prey, is from the Vampire's Prey series and is a unique story to this book. Also in this volume is The Body Farm. This is a wholly original story about… well, you'll just have to wait and see! Let me just say that it has a couple of my own personal favorite horror scenes that I've ever written.

    All around him lights are flashing on and generators are powering up. Bang. The sound comes from the other side of the 15-inch thick steel door. One of Them. Above the bunker, a rabies outbreak has mutated into a deadly worldwide infection that attacks the very essence of being human, leaving only the most primitive desire: to feed. Against this onslaught, there is one defense - Bunker Z.

    His targets are cryptids, animals denied by science. But they are well known by those living on the edges of civilization, where monsters attack and devour their animals and children and lay ruin to their shantytowns. When a shadowy organization sends Brett to the Congo in search of the legendary dinosaur cryptid Kasai Rex, he will face much more than a terrifying monster from the past. Spinosaurus is a dinosaur thriller packed with intrigue, action and giant prehistoric predators.

    One casualty of the fallout finds himself homeless in the suburbs of Washington D.C. and faces new challenges at every turn just trying to survive. As he changes and adapts he learns hard lessons, makes new friends and ultimately becomes a formidable force of harsh justice in a lawless land. An unrelenting coming of age story set in the backdrop of a once proud America spiraling downward into third world squalor and violence.

    Scott Burgess comes a new episodic ebook series that reimagines and redefines the zombie apocalypse genre. In the near future, the world has died. With no warning, all technology and communication have inexplicably shut down and zombies have begun to rise. They feed on the living, pulling more to their ranks as they spread at an impossible rate. But hope survives, as a small band of survivors work together to escape from Southern California in hopes of finding sanctuary from this zombie infested world. Their goal is to find some remnants of civilization but the farther they venture, the more they become aware that the world as they know it has been forever lost. What they don’t realize is that there are things hiding in the shadows, things that are far worse than zombies. Dead Solstice is the first episode in the series. It follows the story of Dean Gothurd as he wakes up into a zombie infested world and finds that he must work with his friends to find safety from the hungry horde of zombies. (15,057 words)

    In a small town, mysterious forces try to protect the gallows from being torn down as an evil entity possesses the bodies of the living.

    She wants him dead, not to take his place, but so she can escape the bond of magical slavery, and leave Zual behind to explore the other kingdoms of the world. Her ambition will drive her to rediscover the secrets of the strongest of magic. She is determined to succeed, or she’ll die trying.Note: This stand-alone fantasy book follows the life of Cassandra, it takes place in the same world as the stand-alone book The Formerly Dark Mage, but happens three hundred years later, long after Silvia is gone, and some shocking changes have taken place in the world. It is not necessary to read the first book, but if you plan to read both, you should read The Formerly Dark Mage first to avoid spoilers.