MEGA-DARK discussion

Have you written an epic mega-dark book (or a whole slew of them)? Tell us about it!

I'm in the process of completing a first draft for Other Dangers. It's an apocalyptic novel about a writer who causes the end of the world and then tries to save it. It sounds simple but there's so much more to it than that. Definitely a horror novel and very character driven.

Wow, sweet. Looking forward to it!

Glad to hear it :) I'm let you guys know when it gets published.

I am very interested in this too!! Very unique concept!

I'm the author of Mountain Home, just released by Books of the Dead Press. It's no understatement to say it's dark (and getting nice reviews here and on Amazon).

I've written a few:



I'm also a fan of drabbles (a drabble is a story that has to be exactly 100 words long, not including the title), here's one I prepared earlier :-)

A Mask for every Occasion

I learned at a young age that to blend in with herd provides greater advantage than standing out. Before my balls dropped it became obvious to me that attracting attention would hamper my destined purpose.

The trick is to be like them, to wear the same masks they do. They don't realise they're wearing masks, but that only makes the deception easier.

Whatever I do I wear the appropriate mask. I once thought the mask for work was the hardest to maintain, now I know it is the one for my wife.

No matter, she'll soon see me without it.

I decided to write The Age of Apollyon trilogy because I was tired of trite Gothic-lite stories with emotional demons, lovelorn vampires, and simplistic teenage heroes whose destinies are already laid out to the end. I wanted to write books that were sinister, philosophical, violent, and with characters that weren't easy to love or root for. I wanted to go right to the source of all the conflict from a Biblical perspective; namely, the Devil himself.

Whether or not I accomplished my mission remains to be seen, but I am generally satisfied with the first two books so far (and the reviews have been very positive as well) and I'm hard at work on the final book in the trilogy. I crammed as much atmosphere and melodramatics as I could into these stories (The Age of Apollyon features no less than six cathedrals and historic churches) but I also wanted to depict the conflicts between two drastic ends of the faith spectrum (specifically, Satanism and Christianity). I pull no punches and follow no popular trends; I just wrote the kinds of books that I would want to read.

Sci Fi: Running Black

Serialized Cyberpunk thriller: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008RRPBXO

Next Eshu International installment coming end of this month. (waiting on cover artist) More info here: http://pattodoroff.com/

I have written two novels, The Road to Hell and Adverse Possession. The first is about a character who survives an experience in Hell. The second is a haunted house story.




I am hard at work on my third about night terrors/sleep paralysis, and a fourth may have to do with close encounters of all kinds. :)

Here is the first sneak peek at my upcoming book Indelible! It's a contemporary fiction novel so it's not exactly "MEGA-DARK," but there are some pretty intense parts. Take a look at the pivotal facial tattoo scene and tell me what you think!

RANDOM SCENE OF THE WEEK - FIRST SNEAK PEEK AT INDELIBLE!

Mark wrote: "Here is the first sneak peek at my upcoming book Indelible! It's a contemporary fiction novel so it's not exactly "MEGA-DARK," but there are some pretty intense parts. Take a look at the pivotal fa..."

I am very excited about this book, Mark. And the last one in your first series. Is there a release date for that one?

Certainly by Christmas, but probably before then, likely in the fall. I'm 25% through the first draft now, hope to have it done by the end of the summer. When's the sequel to The Rift coming out?

July 31st. Hopefully... if all goes well.

Check out the cover for Scorn, the final book in THE AGE OF APOLLYON TRILOGY! Coming your way this Halloween!

Mark wrote: "Check out the cover for Scorn, the final book in THE AGE OF APOLLYON TRILOGY! Coming your way this Halloween!

"

Nice looking cover, man. Who did that for you?

Thanks! I did it myself. The publisher could do it but I'm an artsy guy, plus I have ideas in my head that I don't think other people could replicate to match what I'm thinking of. It's just easier this way.

I actually just finished redesigning the covers for the previous two books in this series. I was reading an article about unity among book covers and I realized that the covers in this series are all over the place. I sent them off to the publisher today and if they approve, I'll post them here on Goodreads.

All right, I got the go-ahead. Here are all three brand-new covers for THE AGE OF APOLLYON TRILOGY! Gothalicious!

Hi all,

my dark comedy, The Dead Famous, entered the Amazon humour chart top 20 on release but I'm still looking for reviews and, most of all, new readers. The story is based around a collector of celebrity photographs who realises that he can complete his collection whether the star is alive or not.

Please feel free to download it for nothing at smashwords here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...

Thanks for looking :)

Ron

Check out the cover for my upcoming sci-fi bonanza Cyn. I'm more than halfway through the first draft and I expect to have it released early next year. This one is mega mega dark...

.

Billy and Sara are living a life of fear. Every day and every night since Sara was small they have been haunted by a terrible apparition. She is cold and she is cruel, strange and frightening. Her name is Wendy, and no matter where they go and no matter what they do, Wendy Won't Go.

This is literary horror at it's best, pick up a copy today!
http://www.amazon.com/Wendy-Wont-Go-A...

You guys are going to love this. Nariko is a kick-ass heroine with a superpowered curse that is slowly turning her into a demon. She searches for a cure amid a dark dystopian future. It's got great characters, some heart-wrenching drama, and some truly awesome sci-fi action.

Don't forget to leave a review here and on Amazon. :)

Here's the teaser copy:
When the peaceful world of Correll came under attack, from the brutal and savage Gunoi, everyone expected the Confederacy to come to their aid. But help never came. Years of fighting backed them into a corner, and facing complete annihilation their leaders made the greatest mistake imaginable. They struck a deal with the demonic entity Drak'Nal, trading the souls of their soldiers in return for the power to defeat their enemies.
Three hundred years later, Nariko and the other survivors of Corell are still searching for a way to free themselves from their involuntary enslavement to Drak'Nal, but they are running out of time. Every time they die, their curse brings them forcibly back to life. Every day they lose more of their humanity, lose more of their true selves, and darkness takes its place.
Nariko had always clung to her faith to give her strength, but now the Luminarch no longer answers her prayers and a second, darker persona is growing within her threatening to swallow her whole and claim her cursed body for itself. All she had left was her pride as a soldier, and now, even that is stripped away from her as she is transferred in disgrace to the Seventh Division, whose leader Inami has gone completely mad from the curse. Inami believes that she has found the key to end their crusade and claim their freedom, but how can Nariko place her faith in a madwoman?

http://www.amazon.com/Heart-Traitor-A...

She remembers blood.
A fine mist which goes deep into her lungs, over her skin and through the air. She remembers a desert at dusk. The sky indigo blue and the fire bright, so bright that she can see everything. Near the fire, in the night, all she knows is chaos wrapped in crimson. All is death and nightmare with a single solitary dancer who smiles cruelly as he moves. He is power and darkness. He is man and beast, silver coin eyes and that face, those claws and the agony of loss.
Time stretches wide; seconds like vast eons swallow up her world. Vince is dead, his mother, his brother and her small son ripped apart and gushing as he/it moves. She is screaming, a howl of agony beyond words, primal and wordless. Still he moves, faster than air, faster than she could ever be. Blood drips from her face as she grunts, running with her lungs on fire and her last remaining hope wrapped in her arms.
Lungs starved for air, heart leaping in her chest and her feet like pinions pushing her across the desert, she moves. It will never be enough. She will always fail. He is the wind, feathers and strange sounds wrap around her as she moves on, terrible laughter mocking her in the full bright light of the moon.

-from 'Love Like Blood' a story in Wendy Won't Go: Collector's Editon new from JEA!

Kindle $2.99
Time of Tides Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LWDMSP4
Wendy Won't Go Kindle http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LWDMH28

Paperback $9.99
WWG Collector's Print : https://www.createspace.com/4895131
Time of Tides Collector's Print: https://www.createspace.com/4895199

*TRUMPETS AND FANFARE*

Howdy everyone, I am beyond pleased to announce that Kharmic Rebound is now live on the Amazon store here:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NI2ZD90

This book was a ton of fun to write, and I know that you guys will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

This is by far my best work thus far. These characters are fun, deep, complex, and their journey is wholly satisfying. Here is the jacket copy:

Nineteen years ago, the ArchTyrant and his army were finally defeated at the Battle of Embers. The path of slaughter, which had reduced over a thousand worlds to ash, had finally come to an end.

Nine months later, little Gerald Dyson was born on earth. As the reincarnation of the ArchTyrant, he inherited an astonishing amount of bad kharma, bringing misfortune to him and everything he touches.

Poor Gerald has no idea, of course. All he knows is that wherever he touches something, it breaks, wherever he goes, it rains, whenever he sees an animal, it attacks him.

When the Galaxy Central Computer malfunctions for the first time in history, and sends Gerald a scholarship to the prestigious Central Exeter law school, and when a handful of alien beauties start to take interest in him, he wonders if his luck might be changing for the better. But, a mafia heiress, a soul-eating demon, a huntress who eats humans, are these really the kinds of girls you want to be obsessed with you?

Has Gerald's luck begun to change, or is this just the beginning of the punishment the universe has in store for the reincarnation of the most evil man in history?



What began as a little side project in between Wysteria Books took on a life of its own and became a very large project. It is longer than my other books by nearly a third, so don't try and read it all in one sitting. Just take your time and enjoy the fun.

Now, because I love you guys, everyone who shares my facebook announcement of the book's release with their friends between now and the 23rd will be entered into a drawing for a super special mystery prize. What is the prize? Well, you’ll just have to enter to find out.

So, share this post, get the book, enjoy it, and remember to leave a review. Reviews are like sweet ambrosia to us authors. :)