Newt's Free Horror #88

Newt's Update provides subscribers with news on the author's latest work, upcoming releases, and events.

May 31, 2023

Newt's Update

News
Horror Story Compilations
Recommended Stories
Bibliography
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NEWS

Well, I did it. I turned 41, and lived to tell the tale. Honestly, the whole thing was like a horror movie - with less blood but about the same amount of screaming. Squidge, Lenny, and Toby, those delightful devils, decided one party wasn’t enough for this old soul. So they threw two shindigs: one next to the river Thames (because nothing says "Happy Birthday" like a murky body of water filled with who knows what), and another in Canary Wharf, where the only thing scarier than the buildings is the rent. But despite the threat of liver failure, I survived. So, here's to another year of me tapping away on my keyboard and scribbling with my pen.

WHAT AM I WORKING ON NOW?

On the chopping block now is 'The Blood Eagle'. By the time you read this, I should be finished and throwing it to my beta readers like raw meat to a pack of wolves. I’m just polishing off the first 25 pages tonight, and then I have another 12 to go over tomorrow. Editing: it’s like cleaning, but for your soul.
Also on the go is 'A Chemical Connection'. It's about two-thirds complete, and features LSD, accountancy, 70s rock and my favourite, death. I'm just rearranging the ending to maximise the impact—much like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, but with a happier ending. Hopefully.
Those were both longer than expected, and I'm getting the itch to write more flash fiction. Got a few ideas brewing.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Once I've wrestled 'A Chemical Connection' into submission, I'm planning to play with the concept of a Candyman-style childhood friend who lives in mirrors. Sounds fun, right? It's like your imaginary friend from childhood, but with a much higher body count.
Also on the horizon is 'The Black Grimoire'. Picture 18th Century London, the Night Foxes, and an elderly Jonathan Hargrave. It's going to be a novella, because those Foxes attract too much peril for a short story. They need to learn to take life easier.

UPCOMING EVENTS

10th June: 'Nestor Lynch' book launch. If you don't make it, you’ll miss out. There will be snacks. And existential dread. Mostly dread as it’s cheaper.
14th June: 'Nestor Lynch' is released upon the world. It’s full of murder, revenge, and tech - everything a growing child needs. Content Warning: It does to my regret feature corduroy.
7th July: 'The Blood Eagle' is released. Construction, woodland, and crypts - it’s like a home improvement show gone horribly wrong.
21st July: 'A Chemical Connection' hits the streets. In the 1970s, LSD offered a gateway to another life for divorced accountant George Sullivan. Spoiler: it doesn’t end well.
6th September: 'Tales of the Macabre, Vol. 2' is released. Because everyone loved the first one so much, I figured, why not give the people more of what they want? Rumours that I’m already working on Vol. 3 are 100% accurate.

Horror Story Compilations

TALES FROM THE CAVE. Featuring 25 free horror stories. Including: THE POWER WITHIN, TREV RIDES FORTH and 12 MINUTES.

Recommended Stories

Oasis, by Joan De La Haye, free to download.

The planet has been fried by solar flares turning it into a desert.

The surviving population has been affected by solar radiation, turning them into Zombies.

Only a handful of people remain unaffected.

A family of civilians, guided by a squad of soldiers who have seen more action than they can handle, must make their way to the safety of a UN base at the South Pole called New Atlantis.

But can they make it to this oasis alive or will they only reach it as the undead?

The Blood Queen, by Merick N.H. Ulrik, free to download.

Ashlanna, lone daughter of Grayson, known now as Ash-Axana lived in the city of Tulluth two days' ride southeast of the large metropolis of Ebenaltair. Grayson was a craftsman of steel. He had a smith in Tulluth and was known among the city as the finest maker of swords. His wife Ashlanna’s mother Teritha was a very beautiful woman.

Teritha had a green thumb and loved everything that would grow from the soil, so she kept a large garden. One day after Ashlanna’s 11th birthday her mother, Teritha was bitten by a small black snake in her garden. A week later Teritha died of the venom's poison. Teritha’s death was the turning point in Grayson and Ashlanna’s life

Price War, by Richard Holliday, available FREE on Kindle Unlimited or to purchase.

In a future wrought by traumatic events, the people of the UK come to rely on retailer Yellowstone for their every need. The futuristic company is a newcomer to the country but it’s technologically-advanced ways pamper a weary populace with convenience – at a price – and the convenience soon becomes a necessity.
When Danny interviews at Yellowstone, he realises the sacrifice he needs to make is too great – but he doesn’t realise that Yellowstone know all about him and the danger to their hegemony he poses without even knowing it.
When the battle in the boardroom spills over to a hostile takeover of every town and city in the country, Danny is the one man who stands to fight the Price War against all the odds…

The War That Came To Houston, by Leigh Kimmel, available FREE on Kindle Unlimited or to purchase.

In the midst of preparations for a critical mission, Leland Andersen can't afford the return of a childhood nightmare. Yet night after night the vision torments him, of an astronaut dying in flames.

Nora McKinzie is a Houston police officer -- and a member of an ancient order founded to fight eldritch entities wherever they might flee. When she receives a warning that a sworn enemy is on the move again, her obligations come into conflict with each other.

Both of them are present when Johnson Space Center comes under attack by terrorists. And they both know that the official explanations don't hold together.

Two people, one deadly secret -- and an enemy from beyond time and space.

Don't Tell Them I'm Alive, by Tim Kizer, available FREE on Kindle Unlimited or to purchase.

What do you do when you find your husband's killer?

In August of last year a superyacht named Lady Athena disappeared with 27 people on board. Twelve months later, plastic surgeon Natalie Finlay meets a man who looks exactly like one of its passengers. What she doesn't know is that he is a vicious killer.

When a body with multiple stab wounds is found in her bedroom, Natalie becomes the prime suspect in the case. She claims she was framed by Lady Athena's survivor.

It's up to Detective David Hudson to find out what really happened.

He needs to solve the case before the killer claims another victim.

Vancity Vampires: The Collection, by D. G. R., available to purchase.

Vampires and humans don’t mix, but when a chance meeting intertwines the lives of two vampires and two young brothers, the consequences last for decades.

Jonah and Jimmy were meant to live normal lives, but at seven years old Jimmy is taken. Despite the vampiric power of glamour being used on Jimmy to make him forget, the trauma remains. When his memories are awakened, can his brother save him?