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In Sickness: Stories From a Very Dark Place
Welcome to the dark worlds of Laura Cooney and L. L. Soares, two writers of dark fiction who also happen to be husband and wife. Let them be your guides for an excursion through the uncharted regions of the horrific and the surreal.
Here are just some of the strange sights you’ll see along the way:
• A ghost girl takes her living playmate on an eerie hunt for buried treasure.
• On Halloween night, a college student finds a little black dress that’s more than just a fashion accessory.
• A sasquatch hides in the rhododendrons, waiting for the woman he loves.
• A group of super-smart monkeys are in the mood to peel a meal, but it ain’t bananas they’re craving.
• A husband and wife, bound together in a web of tragic secrets, are haunted by strange, pig-faced children.
So hop in and hold on tight. You’re in for one helluva ride!
“Laura Cooney and L. L. Soares are the Bonnie and Clyde of the horror genre, and this collection is a fully loaded clip of shots to the head. You’re going to dig it!”
~ Brian Keene , author author of A Gathering of Crows and The Last Zombie
Here are just some of the strange sights you’ll see along the way:
• A ghost girl takes her living playmate on an eerie hunt for buried treasure.
• On Halloween night, a college student finds a little black dress that’s more than just a fashion accessory.
• A sasquatch hides in the rhododendrons, waiting for the woman he loves.
• A group of super-smart monkeys are in the mood to peel a meal, but it ain’t bananas they’re craving.
• A husband and wife, bound together in a web of tragic secrets, are haunted by strange, pig-faced children.
So hop in and hold on tight. You’re in for one helluva ride!
“Laura Cooney and L. L. Soares are the Bonnie and Clyde of the horror genre, and this collection is a fully loaded clip of shots to the head. You’re going to dig it!”
~ Brian Keene , author author of A Gathering of Crows and The Last Zombie
- GenresHorror
106 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
3 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 3, 2011
I fancied something ghastly to read, so ”Stories from a Very Dark Place” sounded like just the ticket.
LL Soares and Laura Cooney are a husband and wife team, and reading this alarming book makes me wonder if they should ever have been allowed – for the good of humankind – to form such a terrifying partnership. Dubbed “the Bonnie and Clyde of the horror genre” by Brian Keene, they have very different voices, but both pack an equal punch, and many of the situations presented here will simmer in your skull long after the book is closed.
“In Sickness” is divided into 3 parts: a solo selection of stories from each author, followed by a collaboration. Laura Cooney is up first, and “Wasps” is a powerful curtain-raiser. Here we meet Clint, a young boy who can’t shake off the ghost of a slightly odd and embarrassing girl he’d been forced to play with before her brutal death. It evokes the guilty frustrations of childhood with an uncomfortable poignancy, and concludes with an ice-cold blow.
“The Hirsute You” is a solid monster story before we plunge into “Puppy Love”. For me the most chilling piece in the book, it’s a subtle study of a woman who plays constant psychology with both her rescue-shelter puppy and new girlfriend. It unsettled me for several reasons, and the atmosphere of control and abuse is just as disturbing as what actually occurs. An incredibly effective piece of writing.
Next is “A Crown of Mushrooms”, a slice of self-destructive desire starring Rasputin, the Mad Monk himself, before part 1 concludes with “Number 808″. This is a razor-sharp story with a dystopian flavour about a lonely human punch-bag. The bitterness of exploitation drips from the pages; Laura Cooney writes with her finger on the pulse,whatever the subject matter.
While his wife infects your imagination and unsettles your conscience, LL Soares has more of a lurid attack to his stories, favouring direct jeopardy and letting the actions of his characters speak for themselves.
First we meet Julie in “Little Black Dress”, a nervous, straight-laced girl who decides to don the fish-nets and dress up as a saucy witch for Halloween. Despite the initial liberation and empowerment, she gains perhaps more than she bargained for. It’s engrossing, with moments of palpable threat that is shared thanks to the strength of the characters.
Location is also put to good use in LL’s fiction. “Second Chances” haunts us with a hardened drinker who is drawn back to a beach of blue clay, before we venture inside the “Mating Room”. Here a doctor uses unwilling women in his treatment of a lustful missing link called Billy, and it has a rewarding pay-off for those who can stomach the sexual violence.
“Head Games” is a grisly yarn featuring a troop of intelligent monkeys before we lose all hope in “The No! Place”. This is a triumph, the title referring to a mental refuge into which an abused woman retreats from her vicious boyfriend. Engaging right from the first line, it forces us to share in the helpless plight and makes for a very tense read: certainly not your average abuse/revenge tale. The pitch-black twist might have even made my jaw drop a little.
Closing part 2 is “Private Exhibition”, describing a human exhibit in a public gallery who aggravates her physical wounds and refuses to let them heal. Dealing with need and personal scars, it’s one of LL’s less visceral stories but leaves an appropriately bitter taste.
Part 3 is the collaborative title novella and I was fascinated to see what this marital hybrid entity would produce. “In Sickness” introduces a married couple, Zach and Maddy, deteriorating beneath the weight of their personal demons. They’ve suffered several pregnancy miscarriages, and Zach keeps a pregnant mistress while Maddy hits the bottle, both haunted by ghosts of what could have been. The dialogue is uncomfortably realistic, and the tale juggles rage and tenderness with aplomb. The inevitable descent slowly turns down the dimmer switch towards a conclusion that ends the book perfectly. And that’s in a very dark place indeed.
These two authors clearly love what they do, and that twisted passion has resulted in an unashamed horror collection with no weak tales and plenty of chills. The stories mostly fit the themes of obsession, damaged love and the cruelty that lurks in relationships of all kinds, and their varied styles complement each other. LL Soares makes you afraid of the darkness, and Laura Cooney makes you brood about why.
“In Sickness” indeed, and it’s a good job the authors neglected to include the rest of that particular marital vow. There’s nothing healthy to be found in these pages.
With creepy interior artwork, this thoughtful, quality collection is available now from Skullvines Press.
LL Soares and Laura Cooney are a husband and wife team, and reading this alarming book makes me wonder if they should ever have been allowed – for the good of humankind – to form such a terrifying partnership. Dubbed “the Bonnie and Clyde of the horror genre” by Brian Keene, they have very different voices, but both pack an equal punch, and many of the situations presented here will simmer in your skull long after the book is closed.
“In Sickness” is divided into 3 parts: a solo selection of stories from each author, followed by a collaboration. Laura Cooney is up first, and “Wasps” is a powerful curtain-raiser. Here we meet Clint, a young boy who can’t shake off the ghost of a slightly odd and embarrassing girl he’d been forced to play with before her brutal death. It evokes the guilty frustrations of childhood with an uncomfortable poignancy, and concludes with an ice-cold blow.
“The Hirsute You” is a solid monster story before we plunge into “Puppy Love”. For me the most chilling piece in the book, it’s a subtle study of a woman who plays constant psychology with both her rescue-shelter puppy and new girlfriend. It unsettled me for several reasons, and the atmosphere of control and abuse is just as disturbing as what actually occurs. An incredibly effective piece of writing.
Next is “A Crown of Mushrooms”, a slice of self-destructive desire starring Rasputin, the Mad Monk himself, before part 1 concludes with “Number 808″. This is a razor-sharp story with a dystopian flavour about a lonely human punch-bag. The bitterness of exploitation drips from the pages; Laura Cooney writes with her finger on the pulse,whatever the subject matter.
While his wife infects your imagination and unsettles your conscience, LL Soares has more of a lurid attack to his stories, favouring direct jeopardy and letting the actions of his characters speak for themselves.
First we meet Julie in “Little Black Dress”, a nervous, straight-laced girl who decides to don the fish-nets and dress up as a saucy witch for Halloween. Despite the initial liberation and empowerment, she gains perhaps more than she bargained for. It’s engrossing, with moments of palpable threat that is shared thanks to the strength of the characters.
Location is also put to good use in LL’s fiction. “Second Chances” haunts us with a hardened drinker who is drawn back to a beach of blue clay, before we venture inside the “Mating Room”. Here a doctor uses unwilling women in his treatment of a lustful missing link called Billy, and it has a rewarding pay-off for those who can stomach the sexual violence.
“Head Games” is a grisly yarn featuring a troop of intelligent monkeys before we lose all hope in “The No! Place”. This is a triumph, the title referring to a mental refuge into which an abused woman retreats from her vicious boyfriend. Engaging right from the first line, it forces us to share in the helpless plight and makes for a very tense read: certainly not your average abuse/revenge tale. The pitch-black twist might have even made my jaw drop a little.
Closing part 2 is “Private Exhibition”, describing a human exhibit in a public gallery who aggravates her physical wounds and refuses to let them heal. Dealing with need and personal scars, it’s one of LL’s less visceral stories but leaves an appropriately bitter taste.
Part 3 is the collaborative title novella and I was fascinated to see what this marital hybrid entity would produce. “In Sickness” introduces a married couple, Zach and Maddy, deteriorating beneath the weight of their personal demons. They’ve suffered several pregnancy miscarriages, and Zach keeps a pregnant mistress while Maddy hits the bottle, both haunted by ghosts of what could have been. The dialogue is uncomfortably realistic, and the tale juggles rage and tenderness with aplomb. The inevitable descent slowly turns down the dimmer switch towards a conclusion that ends the book perfectly. And that’s in a very dark place indeed.
These two authors clearly love what they do, and that twisted passion has resulted in an unashamed horror collection with no weak tales and plenty of chills. The stories mostly fit the themes of obsession, damaged love and the cruelty that lurks in relationships of all kinds, and their varied styles complement each other. LL Soares makes you afraid of the darkness, and Laura Cooney makes you brood about why.
“In Sickness” indeed, and it’s a good job the authors neglected to include the rest of that particular marital vow. There’s nothing healthy to be found in these pages.
With creepy interior artwork, this thoughtful, quality collection is available now from Skullvines Press.
November 2, 2010
Husband and wife writers L.L. Soares and Laura Cooney have teamed up for a very dark short story collection that’s sure to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. Laid out in three parts, the book opens with five short stories by Laura then moves into six short stories by L.L. Part three is a collaboration that is beautifully written by the couple together. It’s all brought together by some amazing cover art by Valerie Kahn-Dorato and interior artwork by Mechelle Sizemore.
Among my favorite stories by Laura Cooney in Part 1 include Puppy Love about Veronica who adopts an abused puppy only to train the dog to be a ferocious killer; The Hirsute You about a Sasquatch who hides among the bushes in a park to watch the woman he has fallen in love with; and A Crown of Mushrooms about Sara who has met Rasputin in the modern day—87 years after his supposed death. Wasps is a creepy story about a ghost girl who leads her former friend on a deadly treasure hunt and Number 808 is a dark and disturbing tale about a woman who is paid to be abused by clients.
Easily my favorite story in Part 2 by L.L. Soares is Little Black Dress about a Halloween costume that does so much more for its wearer than just look good—and we all have our own version of the little black dress, don’t we, girls? Head Games is a fantastic story about the true intelligence of a primate species that turns the tables on those who would study them; and The NO! Place has a horrid little twist on the safe place that an abused woman goes to while attempting to escape her tormentor.
Part 3 is the wonderfully dark and twisted story In Sickness about a married couple, Maddy and Zach whose marriage has been falling apart for some time. Zach has a mistress and thinks about killing Maddy, while Maddy is an alcoholic recluse being haunted by the ghosts of pig-children. When things begin to spiral out of control we discover that Zach and Maddy are bonded together by some very dark secrets. The end of this story left me reeling and wanting more.
IN SICKNESS is an amazing collection that should be added to your library of dark horror fiction. Laura Cooney and L.L. Soares truly are the Bonnie and Clyde of horror.
Among my favorite stories by Laura Cooney in Part 1 include Puppy Love about Veronica who adopts an abused puppy only to train the dog to be a ferocious killer; The Hirsute You about a Sasquatch who hides among the bushes in a park to watch the woman he has fallen in love with; and A Crown of Mushrooms about Sara who has met Rasputin in the modern day—87 years after his supposed death. Wasps is a creepy story about a ghost girl who leads her former friend on a deadly treasure hunt and Number 808 is a dark and disturbing tale about a woman who is paid to be abused by clients.
Easily my favorite story in Part 2 by L.L. Soares is Little Black Dress about a Halloween costume that does so much more for its wearer than just look good—and we all have our own version of the little black dress, don’t we, girls? Head Games is a fantastic story about the true intelligence of a primate species that turns the tables on those who would study them; and The NO! Place has a horrid little twist on the safe place that an abused woman goes to while attempting to escape her tormentor.
Part 3 is the wonderfully dark and twisted story In Sickness about a married couple, Maddy and Zach whose marriage has been falling apart for some time. Zach has a mistress and thinks about killing Maddy, while Maddy is an alcoholic recluse being haunted by the ghosts of pig-children. When things begin to spiral out of control we discover that Zach and Maddy are bonded together by some very dark secrets. The end of this story left me reeling and wanting more.
IN SICKNESS is an amazing collection that should be added to your library of dark horror fiction. Laura Cooney and L.L. Soares truly are the Bonnie and Clyde of horror.
February 17, 2013
Husband and wife Laura Cooney and L.L. Soares concoct a heady brew that gets right under your skin. This is a wonderful collection of dark and obsessive tales which plunge the reader into a world of madness and terror. These stories will linger with you for a good while, but it is their collaboration which really was disturbing as a fractured relationship plunges through the veil into the heart of darkness and horror.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews