Turning of the Bones and Other Stories

by Mike X. Welch, Tom Rolland (illustrator)

Some things just go well An immortal man and a pack of wolves. An ancient rock-being and the friend-zone. God and the Devil. A necromancer and...dead people.

Join Mike X Welch, author of ENANTIODROMIA, as he leads you on another tantalizing journey of horror and humor, heartbreak and hope, panic rooms and overdoses.

Turning of the Bones and Other Stories features eleven short stories ranging from the epic and vastly expanded version of the title tale to bite-sized visits with a lovelorn cosmic entity who just can't win. This collection will touch your heart, chill your soul, and poke your tickly spots.

154 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 9, 2024

About the author

Mike X Welch lives in Western New York with his wife, the author Aly Welch (www.alywelch.com), and their twin sons. His adult daughter lives near Seattle. In addition to his day job, Welch is the Author & Anthology Coordinator for Duskbound Books (www.duskboundbooks.com).

In addition to curating the inaugural PASSAGEWAYS anthology for Writing Bloc (now Duskbound Books), his work has appeared in all three original Writing Bloc anthologies (Escape! Deception & Family) in addition to the Hell Hour anthology (Abomination Media). He most recently appeared in the Writing Bloc anthology PASSAGEWAYS: Mythos. His self-published collection of horror stories, ENANTIODROMIA, has been met with universal acclaim.

Welch's next collection of short horror stories - Turning of the Bones and Other Stories - drops on 7/9/24. His next project is A History of Blood - a novel featuring the goddess Kali, a vampire, and a 4000 year old djinn - coming at some point in the near future. That is, if the cat would ever get off his keyboard.
Visit www.mikexwelch.com

Reviews

[ilda · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Turning of the Bones and Other Stories" by Mike X. Welch is a mix of horror, humor, and heart. This collection of eleven short stories includes an immortal dude running with wolves, a friend-zoned rock-being, and a necromancer hanging out with the dead. Each story is unique and super entertaining, with sharp, witty writing that keeps you hooked. The mix of settings and tones makes for a diverse and fun read. While some stories hit harder than others, the collection is overall a blast.

[Milt Theo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short story collection containing eleven short horror stories, all very different from each other, hugely entertaining, wide-ranging, and quite well-written. In fact, the writing makes the book an easy read and I ended up finishing it in a single night, hyper-aware of noises inside and outside the house. A hauntingly beautiful collection well worth everyone's time.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you enjoyed tv shows such as Love Death and Robots, Tales from the Loop or Black Mirror, you will quickly fall in love with the writing style of Mike X Welch. Welch's ability to pull you into a story in the first lines was incredible. Some of the stories left me unsure of the full plot until the last lines while others unfolded gradually but never was my first assumption about the plot correct.

I received an advanced review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Nikkiya Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rating is 3.75/5 stars but deserves the round up to 4 stars.

Horror is not a genre I have read much of and wanted to explore more. I love the idea of short stories to wet the groosome side of my reading appetite without a full commitment. I went in blind not knowing what this book entaled, so I will not mention which stories I liked or didn't like so that you could have the same experience. What intrigued me to pick this book to review were the trigger warnings at the start of the book. I am a dark romance, fantasy, and romantacy girlie at heart. I believe anyone wanting a taste of what this genre has to offer could start here.

What I enjoyed most about these stories is that they were all completely different from one another, eliciting emotions varying from pity, humor, and victory. Equally different were the settings, including historical, current, and somewhere in between. I wanted some of the stories to continue. I like how some stories give indirect/direct characterization immediately, and other stories don't come together until the end of the tale. Are the characters good, evil, or morally gray?

I hope you will give Turning of the Bones: And Other Stories by Mike X Welch a read.


I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, loved this collection. Some genuinely amazing stories in here. I would love more of K’cetnoc and Dan Sinclair!

**My review is based on my thoughts as they came when I was reading this book**

Turning of the Bones- absolutely loved the folklore in here. I had to pause my reading to go research more myself. I love when books include this. I was a little disappointed in the ending, but only because I really wanted more and I wanted to see how things turned out (you’ll understand when you finish this).

K’cetnoc & the Eternal Journey, Part 1: Kevin- wtf. Not a fan of this one.

Burying Attila- This was a pretty interesting story. I enjoyed it.

You Might Get It- this one was good.

Tuesday’s With Moran’d’arth- I’m not sure about this one.

K’cetnoc & the Eternal Journey, Part 2: Therapy- ok. This one changed my mind on K’cetnoc. Him living in the cave with the two Hadrosaurs was cute. I genuinely lol’d at “our time together was torrid”. Absolutely loved this one!

Pandemic- this was interesting. I liked it.

Bizarre Love Triangle- interesting retelling of the three bears. I liked it.

The Immortal Dan Sinclair- loved this one. Wish there was more of it. I would love to hear more of his stories.

K’cetnoc & the Eternal Journey, Part 3: Kevin; Part 2- awwwwww. I would like more of K’cetnoc!

The Necromancer of Parga- creepy.

[Horror Haus Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a collection of 11 short stories. These stories were all creepy and honestly kind of fun to read.

If you’re looking for a quick read that’s full of creepy, diverse stories, I would definitely check this one out.

[Jen Self · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an awesome collection of short stories. The character and world building is excellent! My favorite story in this collection is "The Immortal Dan Sinclair" and I would love to see Mr Sinclair's fascinating lives expanded into a full length novel. The 3 stories about K'cetnoc are awesome too!

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading this with the intention of reading it intermittently with another novel... However I was dragged right in and kept moving too the next story. Before I knew it I was finished in just 2-3 hours. Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Thanks to the author and Book Sirens for providing the ARC

[Kaytalin Platt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the fortunate privilege of being an early reader of Mike X Welch's Turning of the Bones and Other Stories. Each of Welch's concepts is richly developed and the individualized worlds he builds around these characters are uniquely layered. One of my favorites involves a love-lorn eldritch rock beast by the name of K'cetnoc. I think what I loved about it most was that the parts of his story were sprinkled throughout TOTB. It created a delightful intermission between other, sometimes darker stories.

Turning of the Bones and Other Stories is a horror anthology, but I think people who are not necessarily horror fans would also find this collection something to enjoy. The horror is palatable for a variety of tastes and, I think, enjoyable by even the most squeamish of readers. The bumps in the night don't stay with you as much as the characters and their lessons, and I think that broadens the potential appeal of this collection.

[Shamina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Zero stars if possible.

This was shaping up to maybe be a 2-3 star read for me. Not my favorite genre or writing style. Then I got to "Plandemic". I have my own opinions about the bs of that time so I thought the story might be humorous. Instead it's a pointedly disgusting dig at Christianity, mocking God. So, I am not finishing the book. I'm about sick and tired of everybody being perfectly fine with shitting all over my religion, but I'm supposed to be tolerant of their views. Jesus taught forgiveness not tolerance.

I do not recommend this book. Especially if you are Christian or Jewish. Even if I remove "Plandemic" from what I read, the book is mediocre at best.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.