For the next three days, if you purchase my debut novel “The Clearing” (Amazon, priced at 99 cents), I will email you a coupon code to get my new ghost story anthology “Restless Souls: 3 dark fables” FREE on Smashwords! All you have to do is email me at “steelerfutball57@yahoo.com” after making your purchase, and I will email you the coupon…
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You can feel it, can't you? It's a different feel in the air, an unsettling tingle in the coolness that tweaks the air on your arms, makes you glance furtively at shadows as you pass by empty doorways. Leaves freshly dead scuttle across the sidewalk, the soft scraping of their skeletal flesh sending chills up your soul. A distant train whistle echoes into the night, lonely, isolated. Suddenly, the chill air no longer signals a need for that streaming cup of hot chocolate typically revered for those who worship crisp fall nights. Every nerve is on edge and alert, and a slick of sweat begins to creep through your pores as you glance in all directions. A quick look at the clear night sky reveals a moon two days from full, and you realize: You're alone on the street. What better time to read of werewolves and spirits? Particularly when the reading is done for - well, practically free. Picture this. You breeze over to Amazon, search for Thomas Rydder, find my two books, and click to buy. Almost instantly - and for a total of $0.99 - you have the makings of a creep-filled evening of reading pleasure. By the time your purchase is confirmed, that cherished cup of aforementioned choc-o-late is beeping in the microwave. You sigh into the recliner, the blanket comes up, the Kindle comes on, and you click on "Restless Souls: 3 dark fables", and read -
“Get the hell outa here!”
A boot sailed across the room, bouncing off the wall when the scraggly tabby cat dodged hastily. “Bloody hell. A man can’t even grab a few winks without you wailing for something.” He ran a grimy hand through his greasy, sleep-do hair and staggered over to the mirror to squint at his reflection in the tarnished glass.
“Jesus. Jeremy, how could it possibly get any better than this?” Scratching under his arm, he reached for the baggy dungarees hanging over the chair and pulled them over his bony legs, yanked on the socks from last night, and cursed when he realized he’d have to retrieve his boot from its resting place against the wall. First came a few handfuls of water from the stained sink, then a hasty straight-back comb and a stained, threadbare shirt over the thin, stooped shoulders.
The yellowed, buzzing fridge grudgingly offered green bread, a bag of potatoes, and an apple with one brown spot. Teeth sank into the apple while eyes swept over his kingdom. A sagging mattress and box spring sans frame, one floor lamp with a crooked shade, a dresser with one drawer missing, and three books: “The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce,” John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men,” and a King James version of the Holy Bible. The last was a nuisance. He hadn’t read a page of it, but it had been a gift from mum, and every time his hand had poised over the dumpster out back, a vision of her pitiful face during his last visit to her hospital room came to mind. So it stayed and gathered dust. Even had a couple nibbles out of one corner from a scuttling tenant who lived in that hole behind the fridge.
He yanked open the top drawer of the dresser. A wallet, two watches, a purse, and best of all, an Ipod he’d managed to snatch from some brat at the mall. The kid had sounded like an air-raid siren as Jeremy had pelted away, and he had been so scared he’d not stopped running for 3 blocks. Damn near killed him, but it would be worth it. Ernie would pay good money for this baby – ohhhh yeah. Going to hold that one for awhile, though. Save it for when he needed some smack real bad. The wallet held a Master Card and 15 bucks. Not much, and the Master Card was useless, but he’d eat today. Use the MC and get your mug on a camera…can’t have that. Needed to get a fix, though, so what’s in the purse? Yeaaaaah. A whopping 37 bucks grinned back at him, might as well be saying “shoot that stuff in, baby.”…
I just hope you remembered to lock your door…
Click to get it on Amazon!
A small town in western Pennsylvania – quaint, simple, peaceful. That is, until The Elder takes up residence. He has an agenda – one that is 1,000 years old, and cannot be denied. One that will change the lives of many – and end the lives of any who interfere.
1. “Do Unto Others” (short story) – Jeremy is a street hood, lawless and unchained. When he is wronged by a local businessman, it becomes his mission to seek revenge. But his new enemy has friends – ones that don’t take kindly to intruders.
2. “Colors” (short story) – Harrison Street. attorney, biker wannabe, coward. When he finds the bike of his dreams, it seems too good to be true. It is.
3. “Simona Says” (novella) – Simona has had it rough. Death, disenchantment, and disappointment are all part of her life. She wants to be happy for a change, and she’s willing to do just about anything to find some.
Anything.
Thomas Rydder 