My short story "The Northwest Corner" is now available

My short story "The Northwest Corner" is now available for Amazon's Kindle as an ebook download for 99 cents. It's short and sweet, about 20 pages in the Kindle Previewer. Click here to check it out.

Here's the blurb describing the plot:

Ryan desperately needs a book about gargoyles for his history project, and the only thing standing in his way is Ms. Maple, the cranky old librarian. As Ryan finds out, help can come from the most unlikely, and terrifying, of places.

Like my book "The Barrens House," the story is targeted to the young-adult market but would be good scary fun for just about anyone. Also like my book, it includes a gargoyle and a library. I wrote them both around the same time a few years ago, so I must have been on a gargoyle/library kick at the time.

As always, I'd love to hear what you think. Send me an email at simon.a.thalmann [at] gmail.com with your thoughts.

My book "The Barrens House" is now available

My young-adult horror novella "The Barrens House" -- which first appeared free, chapter by chapter, in an early version on this blog -- is available for purchase as an ebook and in good old print format as well. I don't know about you, but personally I still prefer the latter for anything longer than an average news story.

Here's the back-cover blurb describing the plot:

Danny has reservations about moving the minute he finds out his dad took a job as caretaker of an old estate hours away, in the middle of nowhere. Yet his fears about starting out at a new school and having to make all new friends fade into the background as strange things begin happening in the guest room of his new home. Who is the mysterious young girl appearing in his dreams? And why does he get such frightening chills from the lifelike stone gargoyle that sits on the arch above the gates to the graveyard behind the house? As his family settles in at the ominously named Barrens House, Danny begins to realize not all is as it seems.

Ooo, spooky! It's a short -- something like 88 pages -- but fun read, equally inspired by R.L. Stine's beloved "Goosebumps" series and "Mr. Boogedy," the scariest horror movie for kids of all time. I saw it when I was so young I can't remember my first viewing, and I've never gotten over it.

I've gotten a lot of positive comments relating to the cover of the book, which I crafted from a photo available under a free-to-use license on morguefile.com. Click here to see the original, uploaded by morgueFile user driscoll.

Click here to purchase "The Barrens House" in print from Lulu.com for $7 or as an ebook for $1.50.

Click here to purchase the Kindle Edition of "The Barrens House" from Amazon.com for $2.99.

If you do check it out I'd love to hear what you think. Send me an email at simon.a.thalmann [at] gmail.com with your thoughts.