by Terri Reid
Daddy passed away a few years back, so I run the hardware store now, along with my son Blake. He knows the difference between a blind hinge and a butt hinge, and can tell you what kind of caulk to use in a bathroom and what kind to use around windows. Customers like him too.
I also opened a car dealership with some of the money I made from The Fast Lane, but I have people who run that for me, because I’d rather be in the hardware store; less paperwork.
Hernando was wrong when he said that I’d come back to the Hotel California. But he was also right in a way. While I have never been back to that area of the country again, I visit the hotel quite often in my dreams, and of course, that includes reliving my short time with Maria. I can still see her face as plain as the night she bit my lip. The dreams always start out pleasant, but before the dream ends, I see those demon eyes and wake up in a cold sweat.
It’s not as bad as it used to be. Brenda Jane wakes me up two or three times a year now, jostling me out of the nightmare and comforting me when I come to, breathing hard and shaking like a cold pup. I know it could have been worse. I often wonder where I would be now if Blake and his nameless friend had not done what they did. I wonder what would have happened to me if I had drunk my wine, and if I had been with Maria again. Good Sense still tells me I’m far better off the way things are, but Bad Sense tickles my brain with thoughts about Maria, and lying in her pedestal bed.
In general, life is good. With or without the wine, I have become the confident and fortunate man who I wished to be those many years ago.
THE END
Authors
Ophelia Julien
Ophelia Julien grew up in a haunted house on the near north side of Chicago, a circumstance that has given a decided slant to her work since she first began writing stories somewhere around third grade. Dead of Summer, her first published work, appeared in 1990. Saving Jake was released in 2002. She writes for Young Adult/New Adult readers, but recently her audience began expanding with her Bridgeton Park Cemetery Series. Haunted, the first book in the series debuted in 2012 and was followed by book two, Dead Voices in 2014. In addition, she has a nonfiction title, Ghosts of Lake Michigan, available through Quixote Press, and a short e-story, Hunting Spirits. She is currently working on book three for the Bridgeton Park Cemetery Series.
Ms. Julien loves ghost stories, gets recharged by watching paranormal reality TV shows, and takes every ghost tour she can find, especially when traveling. Should you ever meet her, feel free to discuss the paranormal or swap a ghost story with her. She firmly believes that everyone has a ghost story.
Amazon Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/OpheliaJulien/e/B009MQ5UOY
Website:
http://opheliajulien.com
Blog: Ubiquitous Ghosts on BlogSpot
http://opheliajulien.blogspot.com/
Facebook and Twitter
She Loves You by Ophelia Julien
Andrea Jones
Andrea Jones, author of “Smooth Criminal,” is inspired by edgy works of music, and also by literary classics. Jones’ first novel, Hook & Jill (Reginetta Press), is a serious parody of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan story, and intended for adult readers.
Hook & Jill won five literary awards, among them the Gold Award for Adult Fiction and Literature in the 2010 Mom’s Choice Awards®, and Best New Fiction in the 2010 International Book Awards.
Other Oceans: Book Two of the Hook & Jill Saga netted seven more awards. Jones plans five books for the series. Her short story, “Deeper Creatures,” appears in The Sea (Crossroad Press). Jones is the editor of classic restoration projects: J.M. Barrie’s Peter and Wendy: the Restored Text; and Prince of Thieves and Robin Hood the Outlaw by Alexandre Dumas (Reginetta Press).
Graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Jones studied Oral Interpretation of Literature, with a Literature minor. In her career in television production, she worked for CBS, PBS, and corporate studios.
Andrea Jones is known around the world as Capitana Red-Hand of the international pirate brotherhood, Under the Black Flag. She is a member of the Brethren of the Great Lakes. Jones’ home port is near Chicago.
Amazon Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/Andrea-Jones/e/B005UTW338
Smooth Criminal by Andrea Jones
David McAfee
David McAfee is the author of the UK Bestseller, 33 A.D., as well as its two sequels. He has written over a dozen novels, both under his own name and as a ghostwriter, and has contributed numerous short stories to various horror collections like this one. In addition to horror, he has also penned a nonfiction account about being a stay at home parent, a scary prospect in and of itself. He currently resides in Tennessee with his wife and children.
He can be reliably found on Facebook, or less reliably via his oft-neglected blog:
mcafeeland.wordpress.com
Rumor has it he has a Twitter account as well, though reliable information on this cannot be found.
Satisfaction by David McAfee
Donnie Light
Donnie Light lives in rural Northern Illinois. He has a background in engineering and information technology.
Growing up, Donnie read every action-adventure and horror story he could get his hands on. Since he wrote his first novel, Dark Justice in 1992, he has strived to deliver fast-paced scary stories to his readers.
He co-wrote The Ripper Trilogy with author Shawn Weaver, which consists of Book One: Ripper’s Row, Book Two, Ripper’s Revenge, and Book Three, Ripper’s Wrath.
He currently has another exciting novel in editing, expected to be released early in 2016.
Website:
http://donnielight.com
Email:
[email protected]
Amazon Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/DonnieLight/e/B002YPF22U
He is also on Facebook and occasionally on Twitter.
Swamp Witch by Donnie Light
The Hotel California by Donnie Light
Connor Millard
[In the interest of public memetic safety, this bio has been redacted. And in actuality, this redaction should itself be redacted. We apologize for any unwanted contact with transconceptual entities. The following information, however, is safe:]
Blog:
http://theverydefinitionofprocrastination.blogspot.com
Email:
[email protected]
Rococo by Connor Millard
Ann Fields
Ann began her writing career in the romance genre. She published four romance novels and one novella under the pen name of Anna Larence before she encountered her first ghost. That one brush with the supernatural shifted her focus from love and happily ever after to love and life in the after. In her novel, Fuller’s Curse and her short stories featured in Voices from the Block and The Writer’s Block: A Legacy of African-American Literature, she explores life in all its many dimensions. She can be reached online at www.annfields.com, https://twitter.com/ann_fields and www.facebook.com/AnnFieldsAuthor.
Website:
www.annfields.com
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/ann_fields
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/AnnFieldsAuthor
Amazon Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/AnnFields/e/B0055CIX7U
The Devil Went Down to Georgia, Again by Ann Fields
Niki Danforth
Niki Danforth, daughter of a Cold War covert intelligence officer, has the thriller/adventure gene in her DNA. After a career in New York television, including as a director for Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, this empty-nester recreated herself as an author of suspenseful mysteries. Introducing a feisty, sexy, mid-life heroine in Stunner: A Ronnie Lake Mystery, Danforth has given her budding detective a new whodunit to solve in Delilah: A Ronnie Lake Cold Case. Danforth is currently at work on A Ronnie Lake Murder Mystery. The author, who recently completed A Wild Ride: The Adventures of Misty & Moxie Wyomin
g, a children’s magical mystery novel, lives in New Jersey with her husband and two drama-queen dogs.
Website:
http://nikidanforth.com
Email:
[email protected]
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/NikiDanforthAuthor
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/NikiDanforth
Amazon Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/NikiDanforth/e/B00F0S1HJK
Delilah by Niki Danforth
Terri Reid
Terri is the creator of the Mary O’Reilly Paranormal Mysteries. An indie author, Reid published her first book “Loose Ends – A Mary O’Reilly Paranormal Mystery” in August 2010. By the end of 2013, “Loose Ends” had sold over 200,000 copies. She now has thirteen other books in the Mary O’Reilly Series and has enjoyed BestSeller, Top Rated and Hot New Release status for all of them in the Mystery, Paranormal Romance, Horror, Cozy, or Women Sleuths categories. Her books have been translated into Spanish, Portuguese and German and are also now also available in audio versions.
Reid has been quoted in a number of books about the self-publishing industry including “Let’s Get Digital Edition One and Edition Two” by David Gaughran and “Interviews with Indie Authors: Top Tips from Successful Self-Published Authors” by Claire and Tim Ridgway. She was honored to have some of her works included in A. J. Abbiati’s book “The NORTAV Method for Writers – The Secrets to Constructing Prose Like the Pros.”
Reid is from Northwest Illinois, near the town of Freeport, the home of her fictional characters. Her background is in marketing and public relations. She is married, the mother of seven children and the grandmother of sixteen adorable grandchildren.
Website:
http://terrireid.com/
Amazon Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/TerriReid/e/B004S8D0R0
Angie Baby by Terri Reid
Sharon Love Cook
Sharon Love Cook began her writing career at age 17 as a correspondent for the Cape Ann Summer Sun, a seasonal supplement to the Gloucester Daily Times (Mass.). She covered the beach colony where she lived. She also provided a cartoon each week, the first time her ’toons appeared in print. Not much happened during those summers in the mid ’60s. Her copy tended to be about the Red Cross swim classes, the restoration of the wooden steps leading to the beach and the jellyfish invasions. On one occasion a teenage resident received a visit from her Japanese pen pal. This blew the jellyfish story right off the page.
She is the author of the Granite Cove Mysteries and is working on #3: Laugh ’til You Die. In it, Rose McNichols, Cook’s protagonist, does stand-up comedy at nursing homes, something Cook herself has done—and doesn’t recommend.
She lives with her husband and small herd of cats in Beverly Farms, on Boston’s North Shore. Contact her at sharonlovecook(at)comcast.net, or sharonlovecook.com. Check out Granite Cove, where the only things open at midnight are the sea clams:
Website:
sharonlovecook.com
Email:
[email protected]
Amazon Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/SharonLove-Cook/e/B005HMBTDI
Maggie Mae by Sharon Love Cook
A.T. Reid
A.T. Reid is an award-winning novice author from Northwest Illinois. Reid also enjoys screenplay writing and acting, including work in short films that have made their way to film festivals. He has also been the writer and director of an award-winning short film.
Reid considers himself a geek and would be in heaven if Firefly could somehow drop into an Avengers movie. His geekiness extends to his writing mode as he enjoys experimenting with cross-genre subjects.
Reid is currently working on a series of short stories based in the world of Teraven. They will be available through Amazon.
Email:
[email protected]
Every Breath You Take by A.T. Reid
