Latest Release!
Thorns, compiled and edited by Jodi Christensen
Featuring “Thorned” by JS Douglas
Excerpt of “Thorned” by JS Douglas.
The alert blared over Maddie’s phone. A zing of panic jolted through her body, and she swerved. She wasn’t alone in her reaction, several cars ahead of her jumped lanes, one scraping the cement barrier before correcting back into its lane. She gripped the steering wheel, keeping her white-knuckled hands at ten and two as she listened to the report.
“This is a tumbleweed alert. Find shelter. If you are on foot or in a vehicle, travel south to your nearest shelter. Tumbleweed is moving eastward at approximately fifty-five miles per hour. Message repeats…”
Maddie’s heart slammed against her ribs. A flash from one of the educational videos she’d seen as a kid whisked through her mind. A tumbleweed-infected body. The infecting thorn festering in the skin. The person, now an automaton, walking into the door, trying to get out, searching for a dry place to die and fertilize the new plant already stretching roots inside of them.
She refocused, looking at her map, the arrow pointing eastward, toward home, toward her dogs. With a single alert, what was a simple lunch break errand transformed into a life-or-death situation.
A short story anthology, published by Black Hare Press
A short story anthology inspired by videos like this one
Read JS Douglas’ short story “Thorned” featured in the “Thorns” anthology published by Black Hare Press.
When Maddie gets the tumbleweed warning, she makes a choice that will effect the rest of her life - and the life of the entire human race.
Buyer Beware
There is something very wrong with the house at the end of the cul de sac. Something that attracts home buyers looking to make a fresh start. Buyers like Erin Roux, who chose the “priced to sell” two-bedroom ranch-style home as a safe haven for her retirement and a place to grieve the loss of her husband.
But the grandly named home at the end of Pardee Street is no haven. It sits on a dimensional rift, and something evil lurks on the other side. Something that has the power to infiltrate our reality, conforming the minds of Erin’s neighbors to its will. And it’s hungry.
A short story
Marybeth moved to the Pacific Northwest to escape her past. She believes she has succeeded until the day she wakes up to smoke and the scent of burning peaches. The smoke chases her, forcing her to drive toward her childhood home in the South. Along the way, she must wrestle with her past and discover what it means to be haunted.
Sometimes, where there is smoke, there is fire. And sometimes, there are ghosts.
A Lovecraftian take on the Cinderella story
The black plague decimated the Charmant family, leaving only the king and his youngest son to rebuild their shattered legacy. Their path to reestablishing power is clear: Prince Charmant must take a bride.
To this end, the king orchestrates a grand spectacle, hosting three extravagant balls that draw every eligible maiden in the realm. Amidst the glittering throng, a captivating figure emerges - the enchanting Lady Elle. Beautiful, wealthy, and fascinating, Lady Elle charms the prince, bringing him to his knees in her presence.
However, from the moment Lady Elle enters the prince’s heart, eerie and otherworldly events begin to unfold. Prince Charmant suspects that Lady Elle’s enigmatic stepmother is using witchcraft to put an end to the couple’s happiness.
Only Lady Elle knows the truth. A power surges beneath Castle Charmant. A power that Lady Elle has sought for centuries. Now that she has found it, she will stop at nothing to make it her own.
Embark on a harrowing journey into the stygian recesses of an alien psyche as Prince Charmant grapples with a maddening reality: his newfound bride is no woman. She is a monster.