Can You Find Lydia's Secret?

(NOTE:  The clue isn't in the above image, it's in the cover image at Smashwords.com)

If you've read my latest flash fiction story, Lydia, you know what her secret is.  But, did you know there's a clue hidden in the cover image that gives it away?  It's been there the whole time...mwah hah hah.

Here's the deal:  If you can find the clue hidden in the cover, I'll give you a free copy of either of my novels, THE COMING or THE MENGELE EFFECT from Smashwords.com (or, if you've read both, you can get one of my short stories--Reflections, Burial Ground or Broken--for free).  Here's the rules:

1) Read the story!  (Hey, it's FREE, and will only take a few minutes!)
2) Click the cover image on Lydia's Smashwords page...you can view a large version of it.
3) Search the cover for the clue.  Look hard...it's there!
4) Once you find it, email me using the "contact" tab on my website & let me know what the clue is.
5) I'll send you the coupon code to get either THE COMING or THE MENGELE EFFECT (your choice) for free! (or one of my short stories)

Good luck!

THE MENGELE EFFECT Audio-ON Contest Winner!

The other day, I learned my novel THE MENGELE EFFECT was one of the top three works selected by Audio-ON for their nationwide Aspiring Author Contest!  From their website:

"For this contest, we are honoring aspiring authors among us.  Authors from around the country sent us teasers of their published book.  The top entries will be recorded into a teaser that they will have the rights to publish and use for their own publicity."

By August 15th, Audio-ON will record the teaser I entered and provide a recording free of cost!  Below is a copy of what I sent...I can't wait to hear how it turns out!

***

THE MENGELE EFFECT

The mutations begin in a Kansas City salvage yard.

Hours later, the light of day reveals a dead city, stripped of life by creatures torn from the pages of a nightmare.  On this night, the gates of Hell swing wide and release the spawn of mankind's hate to pour across the Midwest in an unstoppable, ravenous wave, slowed only by the sun's killing light.  A quiet, peaceful evening in America’s Heartland becomes—as the few remaining survivors would later recall—the last night humanity would rule the planet.

Carolyn Ridenour fights a daily battle to keep America safe from the world's tiniest, most fearsome weapons.  Ordered to Kansas City to investigate the unfolding horror, she barely escapes the creatures' nocturnal onslaught, saved at the last instant by Colonel Garrett Hoffmann, a man who'd witnessed the slaughter of hundreds of his troops—and innocent civilians—under the creatures' horrific advance.  President Andrew Smith, former Navy Admiral and battle-scarred hero, watches as city after city is literally eaten alive, the military’s conventional might useless against a swarming foe that inexplicably—and exponentially—replenishes its numbers every twenty-four hours.  Frantic for answers, the President is pushed towards the unthinkable by members of his own government…trusted advisors who have long prayed for this day, each members of an ancient order sworn to destroy civilization in order to save their own souls.

Carolyn and her team race to find a way to stop the creatures—products of perverse, decades-old genetic research performed in Auschwitz’s filthy labs, refined by Cold War enemies, and perfected by nature—before a co-opted President unleashes the fury of America's nuclear arsenal on his own soil...

And his own citizens.

***

"Broken" - Live at Smashwords and Amazon

My latest short story, "Broken", is now live at Smashwords and Amazon!  This isn't a horror story per se, but don't worry...it IS dark.

When Raquel Kane discovers her husband's ugly secret, she decides to take matters into her own hands...five miles off the Florida coast.

Two Novels in the Top Twenty!

I  may be the only person who gets a kick out of this, but here it is anyway...

Below is the list of the top twenty highest rated full length horror novels at Smashwords.com (priced at $0.99 or less):

1. "Trudge: Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse" by Shawn Chesser

2. "The Mengele Effect" by Chuck Grossart

3. "Operation: Blackheart" by Jonathan Brett

4. 'The Box (The Temple of the Blind #1)" by Brian Harmon

5. "Bottle Full Of Scorpions" by John Dominick

6. "The Knife" by No Man

7. "The Sylvanville Spirits" by Troy H. Gardner

8. "Year of the Dead" by Jack J. Lee

9. "A Ghost of Fire" by Sam Whittaker

10. "Alone (Book 1 in the Serenity Series)" by Marissa Farrar

11. "Little" by Hickory Cole

12. "314" by A.R. Wise

13. "Malevolent Gateway" by Dawn Gray

14. "Darlings Of Decay" by Kristen Middleton

15. "Carnival" by Ron Sanders

16. "Soul Guardian" by Tara Manderino

17. "Deadly Intent" by Laura Eno

18. "Zoo'd: A Horror in Reality" by Kevin Guest

19. "The Guild of Fallen Clowns" by Francis Xavier

20. "The Coming"  by Chuck Grossart

It's kind of cool to show up twice!

5-Star Review for THE COMING

A nice review posted on THE COMING's Smashwords page: 

Review by: Carl Amoscato on May 22, 2013:  "This is the second book I've read by Chuck Grossart, and I enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed the first one!  His imagination is incredible.  The twists and turns The Coming takes are surprising, but not so out there that you lose the suspension of disbelief, and that's a hard line for a lot of authors to find.

The story moves along at a fast pace, but with lots of little telling details to flesh out the characters, as though everything extraneous has been trimmed away to leave only the elements that are necessary.  I'm looking forward to more from Mr. Grossart!"

THE MENGELE EFFECT - #12 at SMASHWORDS!

My horror/suspense novel THE MENGELE EFFECT earned it's fourth 5-Star rating at Smashwords.com the other day, and here's where it sits in the rankings as of right now:

For full-length novels (50,000-100,000 words)

Thriller & Suspense - #29 (#38 overall, any length)
Horror - #12 (also #38 overall, any length)

So, for all the full-length horror novels on Smashwords, THE MENGELE EFFECT is the 12th highest rated!  WOO HOO!

"Double Tap" - Flash Fiction Horror!

My latest flash fiction horror story, "Double Tap", is available at Smashwords.com in a number of eBook formats. It's less than 1,000 words (quick read), and FREE! Give it a look, and leave a review if you like it!


Christina doesn't fancy herself a murderer.  She sees what others cannot, only tracking & killing those who unknowingly reveal their true nature.  She's doing what she does best...and she's very, very good.

THE COMING Doing Well in the UK!

As of this afternoon, my novel THE COMING is #29,189 at Amazon UK!

First 5-Star Review for "Burial Ground"!

From James M. M. Baldwin, posted on Burial Ground's Smashwords page: 

Review by: James M. M. Baldwin on April 30, 2013:

"I’m glad I read Chuck Grossart’s “Burial Ground” in the middle of the day surrounded by living people.  If I had read this alone in the middle of the night I would have found myself looking over my shoulder in a state of anxiety.  Chuck does a great job portraying the fear of being alone in a dark unfamiliar place.  Not only that, he brings it to a climax that is the basis of all human terror.  I would highly recommend this frightening tale of a young man’s journey into the dark confines of a house whose occupant is not of this realm."

Wow!  Thanks, Jim!

Another 5-Star Review for THE MENGELE EFFECT!

From Carl Amoscato, posted on THE MENGELE EFFECT's Smashwords page: 

Review by: Carl Amoscato on April 18, 2013:  "The Mengele Effect is a fantastic read! It starts out fast, and the pace and tension ratchet up and up until the climax, with a nice little twist to bring you gently back down at the end. It's a horror story, but it's also got a good dose of techno/military thriller in it, too, and Mr. Grossart does a great job of keeping the mix just right. If you're looking for a good tale told well, I recommend it highly."

Thanks, Carl!

Boston.

ONE HUNDRED Novels Sold!

Sorry to geek out again, but someone in the UK just made me pretty happy...they bought a copy of THE COMING, which put me at the 100 mark for combined sales of both of my novels, THE COMING and THE MENGELE EFFECT!

WOO HOO!

First 5-Star Review for "Reflections"!

 

From James M. M. Baldwin, posted on Reflection's Smashwords page: 

Review by: James M. M. Baldwin on April 14, 2013:

"Nice story Chuck. Who hasn't looked in the mirror and thought... 'What if...' Thanks for filling that in with this suspenseful story."

Thank you, James!

Promo Video for "Burial Ground" - a Horror Short Story

Here's a little spooky for you..."Burial Ground"

"Burial Ground" Available for Download!

My new horror short story, "Burial Ground", is available for purchase at Smashwords.com! 

On a dark Halloween night in 1980, three high school friends in search of mischief decide to enter a neighbor's home, sitting empty and silent, waiting for its owners to return from an extended stay in the mountains.

The house, they say, is haunted.

What follows shakes their beliefs to the bone, and reveals the horrid secret which dwells beneath.

Based on a true story.

"Reflections" Shipped to Different eBook Stores

My horror short story "Reflections" can now be found at the following eBook stores:

Smashwords
Amazon
Barnes & Noble  (no cover image yet)
Kobo
Diesel

If you're thinking of purchasing it, you can take a look at the excerpt on my web page first (under the Short Stories tab)

If you like it, please leave a review!

TWO THOUSAND! I love that number!

Let me apologize up front for geeking-out a bit, but...as of this afternoon, my eight flash fiction horror stories have broken the TWO THOUSAND DOWNLOAD barrier!  WOO HOO!

 

Check out my web page to see some of the reviews:  http://cvgrossart.wix.com/chuck-grossart

Okay.  I'm done geeking-out now. ;)

"Reflections" Available for Download!

My new horror short story, "Reflections", is available for purchase at Smashwords.com! 

"After her family moves into an old farmhouse outside of Twin Creek, Nebraska, Anna is enchanted by a rustic cheval mirror her mother finds in the attic, covered by a dusty patchwork quilt.  Behind the cloudy glass surface, she imagines another world, an exact copy of her own, separated only by a thin wall of glass.  An impenetrable barrier, she believes, until late one night a few days after her ninth birthday, when the antique mirror—and that which dwells within—reveals its true nature."

Awesome 5-Star Review for THE MENGELE EFFECT!

It's reviews like this that really make a rookie writer (like me) do a HAPPY DANCE (like Snoopy)!

From Mr. Scott Crowder, posted on THE MENGELE EFFECT's Smashwords page:

Review by: Scott Crowder on March 29, 2013:

"The Mengele Effect is a TNT-fueled juggernaut of a novel that barrels along at a breakneck pace, a pace so fool-hearty that , as you read it, you’re sure Mr. Grossart will lose control at any moment and send it hurtling into the nearest train station full of innocent bystanders, killing them all and maybe their next-of-kin too, just for good measure. Instead, he keeps this monstrosity on track with a deft touch and a vast arsenal of verisimilitude presumably picked up from his days in the Air Force. A staggeringly good novel that’s part horror, part political techno-thriller, it’s so good it won’t let you go until it’s over."

Thank you, Scott!

"Beach House" 350 Downloads & Counting!

Since it went live online on 21 Dec 12, my flash fiction horror story "Beach House" has been downloaded 350 times on Smashwords and Barnes & Noble!  If you haven't read it yet, give it a look...and if you like it, leave me a review!

Of the eight flash fiction stories I've put out there, "Beach House" has definitely done the best; "Legend" is second at 302...over 1,900 downloads for all eight of them combined!

Dear "Anonymous"...I don't like you.

If you read my last post, you know I was a little dumbfounded by the person ("Anonymous") who decided to leave a 1-star rating on one of my FREE stories (Legend) and leave the comment, "A waste of my time and money!!  Don't bother with this."  Like I said, if someone really doesn't like what they've read & decides to leave a bad review, I have no problem with that (especially if they complain about spending money on something that's F-R-E-E...*snort*).  What I DO have a problem with is:

1) A less-than-good review (1, 2 or 3 stars), with no accompanying text.
2) A less-than-good review (1, 2 or 3 stars), left by "Anonymous" (no name).
3) All of the above.

At the risk of sounding bitchy (which is okay, because I'm old and I've earned it), if I leave a poor review, I'll say who I am, and I'll say why.  Common courtesy, right?  Leaving a bad review without leaving a reason, or without leaving a name, is like someone putting on a ski mask, running into a neighbor's house, taking a Mexican-food-induced dump in the toilet off the living room (phew!), and running out of the house without saying a word.  What do I call that kind of neighbor?  J-E-R-K. (I don't have neighbors like that, by the way)

So why am I being bitchy?  I'm getting some poor reviews on Barnes & Noble (mostly from "Anonymous" with no accompanying text), and in most cases, they're the direct opposite of the reviews I've received on Smashwords.  Story by story, here's the reviews so you can see what I'm talking about:

Smashwords:  Three 5-star reviews, two 4-star

Barnes & Noble:  None...yet.

Smashwords:  Six 5-star reviews, one 4-star
Barnes & Noble:  None...yet.

Smashwords:  One 5-star review, one 4-star
Barnes & Noble:  One 3-star review, one 2-star (from "Anonymous")

Smashwords:  Three 5-star reviews (Awesome!  Thank you!)
Barnes & Noble:  None...yet.

Smashwords:  One 5-star review, one 4-star
Barnes & Noble: One 3-star review (from "Anonymous")

Smashwords:  Two 5-star reviews
Barnes & Noble: One 4-star review, one 3-star, and one 1-star (from the person I mentioned in the last post..."Anonymous")

Smashwords:  One 4-star review
Barnes & Noble:  One 5-star review, one 2-star (from "Anonymous")

Smashwords:  One 5-star review, one 4-star
Barnes & Noble:  One 2-star (from "Anonymous")

So, again, I have a favor to ask.  If you've read any of these stories, and happen to disagree with Mr. or Ms. Anonymous, I would humbly ask you please click on over to it's B&N page and leave an honest review.  If you leave a 1 or 2-star review, and leave your name & a reason, that's okay (I'll hunt you down later).

Now...for Mr. or Ms. Anonymous who can't seem to leave a name and/or a reason for their poor reviews:  Take off the ski mask and quit pooping in my main floor bathroom.  It's annoying.  And yes, I hope you read this.

Interview @ Scott Crowder's "The House of Fists"

I received an email from an author a few weeks ago who'd been reading my flash fiction horror stories, and he requested to include me as part of a series of author interviews he's posting on his blog, "The House of Fists".  The interview just went live today...I'm definitely humbled by how he described my work.  So cool!

Take a look!

Barnes & Noble numbers are FINALLY in...

Barnes & Noble (B&N) finally reported their Jan & Feb numbers, and WOW!  My eight flash fiction horror stories have been downloaded a combined total of 1,882 times!

Combined Smashwords, B&N and Sony numbers have "Beach House" leading the way with 345 downloads!

Bad news is, I received my first STINKY review on one of those stories..."Legend".  Whoever left the 1-star review on Barnes & Noble said, "A waste of my time and money!!  Don't bother with this."  Um, okay.  I can buy the fact that if someone took the time to download it and read it, and really didn't like it, they could say it was a waste of their time.  Got it.  What I don't get is they said it was a waste of their...money?  Um, it's free.  F-R-E-E.  Last time I checked, F-R-E-E means it doesn't cost any M-O-N-E-Y.

So...I have a favor to ask.  If you've read "Legend", and happen to disagree with Mr. or Ms. Anonymous who posted the stinky review on B&N, I would humbly ask you please click on over to it's B&N page and leave an honest review.  I'd sure appreciate it!

1,000 Downloads!

My eight flash fiction horror stories have been downloaded a combined 1,000 times on Smashwords.com!

2013 ABNA: The results are in and...

...NOPE.  My pitch for THE MENGELE EFFECT didn't make the cut.  Bummer.  Guess I'll try again next year!

Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas takes a jab at Stephen King?

I finished Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas novel ODD INTERLUDE.  Quick read, and not bad...not his best, but still enjoyable.  In the back of the book, there's an excerpt for his next Odd Thomas book, titled DEEPLY ODD.  Now, I've heard Dean Koontz and Stephen King aren't exactly "BFFs"...and you can find people out there who love one and viscerally hate the other, crowning either Koontz or King as the BEST.  I personally enjoy reading both of them...King can scare the willies out of me, and Koontz can make me laugh out loud right before he scares me (and sometimes afterwards, too).  Different writing styles, different stories, different politics (one a liberal, the other more conservative), but both are wildly successful.

That said, I found this part of the DEEPLY ODD excerpt kinda humorous...read it for yourself, and decide whether or not Koontz is using his character Odd Thomas to take a jab at Stephen King's CHRISTINE:

Odd Thomas:  "I'm not one who believes that a vehicle can be possessed by a demonic spirit, and, driverless, speed around town to run down people for the thrill of tasting blood with its tires, any more than I believe that Herbie, that Volkswagen in that series of Disney movies, had a mind of its own with a desire to bring lovers together and to thwart villains.  If you believe the former, you have to believe the latter, and the next thing you know, you'll be taking your Ford, with its sexy GPS voice, to the car wash just to see her naked and soapy."

See what I mean?

Reading ODD INTERLUDE by Deank Koontz

So far, I'm about halfway through Koontz's ODD INTERLUDE...pretty good!  If you're a fan of Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas, I think you'll like this one...

Excerpt for "Reflections" Posted!

Click on over to my web page & open The Hopper tab; you'll find excerpts for two of my in-work novels and two short stories.

The next one to be published will be "Reflections" - I just posted an except for it today on the web site.  Give it a look & leave me a note to let me know what you think so far!

"Beach House" and "Legend" @ Barnes & Noble

There's sometimes quite a lag between when a book/story makes its way to some eBook retailers and when sales/downloads are reported...so, looking at the ranking numbers is the only way to guess how sales are going (or in this case, free downloads).

Two of my flash fiction stories, "Beach House" and "Legend", seem to be doing pretty well at Barnes & Noble, as both have dipped below the #30K barrier.  As of this morning, "Beach House" is sitting at #23,868 and "Legend" at #29,712.  Every time I check, both numbers keep creeping down...which is cool!

 

These two stories are both getting quite a few downloads on Smashwords, too.  If you haven't read them yet (remember, they're FREE!), click over to Smashwords or Barnes & Noble & give them a read!  If you like them, please leave a review!  If you DON'T like, them...um...you can leave a review, too, but then I'll have to kill you off in one of my future stories.  Don't say I didn't warn you...  ;)

Oh yeah...only 11 more days until the Second Round'ers are announced for the 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award.  I'll post the results here (good OR bad) once the announcement goes public...(fingers crossed)

Over 900 Downloads!

Writing those eight flash fiction stories was a lot of fun...and as of today, they've been downloaded over 900 times on Smashwords.com! (923 to be exact, but who's counting???)  "Beach House" is leading the way with 136 Smashwords downloads, and is sitting at #27,382 on Barnes & Noble.  They've all started appearing on B&N, Sony, Diesel, and Kobo, but the numbers haven't been reported as of yet.  I can't wait to see!  (I also can't wait until the Second Round'ers are announced for the 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, but that's a different subject...)

Here's the Smashwords links & the dates they were published:

"Ripple" (9 Dec 2012)
"Feed the Bear" (13 Dec 12)
"Table Manners" (16 Dec 12)
"Beach House" (21 Dec 12)
"Solace" (23 Dec 12)
"Legend" (28 Dec 12)
"Sluagh" (31 Dec 12)
"Spirit Board" (6 Jan 13)

If you read one, feel free to leave a review!

2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award - Submitted!

At zero-dark thirty this morning, I submitted my novel THE MENGELE EFFECT for the 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA).  The submission included a 300-word pitch (posted yesterday, if you saw that entry), a 5,000-word excerpt, and the full manuscript...mine was ~84,000 words (based on the computer word count) or ~124,000 words (based on an old-school publishers count of 250 words per formatted manuscript page; courier 12 font, double spaced, 1" margins all around).

Amazon started accepting entries at midnight Eastern time, and will continue until they receive 10,000 (stop date is 27 January).

This year, they've divided their submissions into five categories:

- General Fiction
- Romance
- Mystery/Thriller
- Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror
- Young Adult Fiction

13 February - Second Round Announcement (2,000).  Based on judging the 300-word pitches, the judges will cut the field from 10,000 to 2,000 for the Second Round.  Huge cut...and it highlights how important those 300 little words really are!


12 March - Quarterfinalists  Announced (Top 500).  Based on the 5,000-word excerpts, the judges will cut the 2,000 Second-Rounders down to determine the 500 Quarterfinalists.  Amazon customers can download, rate, and review ABNA excerpts on Amazon.com, and provide feedback to Amazon Publishing Editors.

16 April - Semifinalists Announced (Top 25).  Publishers Weekly reviews each full manuscript...and makes the cut from 500 down to 25 Semifinalists.

21 May - Finalists Announced (Top 5).  Amazon Publishing Editors pick the top entry from each of the five categories.  Each of the five finalists is guaranteed a publishing contract through Amazon, and a $15K advance on royalties.  Cool.

15 June - Grand Prize Winner Announcement.  Of the five finalists, Amazon customers vote to select the Grand Prize winner, who, instead of a $15K publishing contract, will receive a $50K publishing contract.  Really cool.

In 2011, my novel THE COMING made it to the Quarterfinals...I hope THE MENGELE EFFECT does that well during this year's contest!

2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award - The Pitch

In 2011, my novel THE COMING made it to the Quarterfinals round in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA) contest (top 250 of 5,000 entries).  This year, I'm submitting my second novel, THE MENGELE EFFECT.  Below is my "pitch", which is what the judges will use to make their initial cut:

THE MENGELE EFFECT

Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror Category

The mutations begin in a Kansas City salvage yard.

Hours later, the light of day reveals a dead city, stripped of life by creatures torn from the pages of a nightmare.  On this night, the gates of Hell swing wide and release the spawn of mankind's hate to pour across the Midwest in an unstoppable, ravenous wave, slowed only by the sun's killing light.  A quiet, peaceful evening in America’s Heartland becomes—as the few remaining survivors would later recall—the last night humanity would rule the planet.

Carolyn Ridenour fights a daily battle to keep America safe from the world's tiniest, most fearsome weapons.  Ordered to Kansas City to investigate the unfolding horror, she barely escapes the creatures' nocturnal onslaught, saved at the last instant by Colonel Garrett Hoffmann, a man who'd witnessed the slaughter of hundreds of his troops—and innocent civilians—under the creatures' horrific advance.  President Andrew Smith, former Navy Admiral and battle-scarred hero, watches as city after city is literally eaten alive, the military’s conventional might useless against a swarming foe that inexplicably—and exponentially—replenishes its numbers every twenty-four hours.  Frantic for answers, the President is pushed towards the unthinkable by members of his own government…trusted advisors who have long prayed for this day, each members of an ancient order sworn to destroy civilization in order to save their own souls.

Carolyn and her team race to find a way to stop the creatures—products of perverse, decades-old genetic research performed in Auschwitz’s filthy labs, refined by Cold War enemies, and perfected by nature—before a co-opted President unleashes the fury of America's nuclear arsenal on his own soil...

And his own citizens.

###

I'll find out on 13 Feb 13 if it makes the cut.  That's a lot of 13's...hopefully, it's a LUCKY number!

THE COMING - 5-STAR Review!

My first novel, THE COMING, is available on Smashwords & Amazon for $0.99.

THE COMING is a story of a world teetering on the brink, its future resting solely on the shoulders of two young people struggling to decipher mysterious events swirling around them, racing against time to fulfill a promise once lost, and prevent the onset of an encroaching, interminable darkness—the End of Days.

 

Here's a nice review I received from Lisa Kovanda, author of "Reckless Abandon", "The Hunt" and "Cedar in Seattle": 

"Terrifying End of Days tale!  I love a book that gives me several characters in seemingly unrelated circumstances, but as the plot tightens they are all drawn together to create a climactic showdown.  Chuck's "Amazon Breakthrough Novel," quarter-finalist novel takes you on a cross-country journey and intertwines the past, present, and future.  It's not for the feint of heart, but if you like a bit of End Of Days terror, this is a book for you."

700 Downloads!

On 9 Dec 2012, I published my first flash fiction horror story, "Ripple".  30 days, 8 short stories...and just broke the 700 combined download threshold!  Woo hoo!

Here's the links:

"Ripple" (9 Dec 2012)
"Feed the Bear" (13 Dec 12)
"Table Manners" (16 Dec 12)
"Beach House" (21 Dec 12)
"Solace" (23 Dec 12)
"Legend" (28 Dec 12)
"Sluagh" (31 Dec 12)
"Spirit Board" (6 Jan 13)

"Spirit Board" Flash Fiction Horror - First 5-Star Review!

My 8th flash fiction horror story, "Spirit Board", went on-line at Smashwords.com late last night, and is sitting at 40 downloads so far.  Thanks for the nice review, Frank!

When Cassie Mattis discovers an old Ouija board at an estate sale, her life takes an unexpected—and quite terrifying—turn...

Frank Gorhau:  "Nicely written! Another great piece of work by Chuck. He manages, in a few short words, to paint an incredibly illustrative picture to the reader, and has the knack to make you almost feel what the character is feeling. In this case, I think I need to go get a sweater...The house suddenly got cold for some reason."

Six Hundred Downloads!

28 days, 7 flash fiction horror stories, 600 downloads!

"Table Manners" - 100 Downloads

My flash fiction horror story "Table Manners" has hit 100 downloads on Smashwords.com, with a couple of nice reviews:

Frank Gorhau:  "Another Outstanding short story! Takes me back to the days when I would stay up late to watch The Twilight Zone.  Of course, the down side is that I'm never going to look at restaurant fare the same way again..."

Jenny Gaines:  "I'll echo the previous reviewer- I'll probably think of this next time I go     out to eat. Good job, Chuck!"