Archive for the ‘horror’ Category

For today’s free read, an excerpt from Armoire–my contribution to the Detritus anthology. Click the link in this paragraph to visit Omnium Gatherum’s Detritus release announcement. Now, on with the excerpt.
Armoire
by Louise Bohmer
“He’s behind me right now, isn’t he?” Xian leaned forward, tented his fingers over a book bound in leather, and studied her with eyes so brown they were almost black. “Your expression tells a story.”
Ophelia felt her face tense in a mask of fear. The shadow man stepped away from the single bulb covered by a green light shade, which dangled just above Xian. She nodded, watching the shadow man stroke a wispy hand over Xian’s shoulder, before the illusion wedged himself in a slender space between two filing cabinets.
“I felt him then.” Blue smoke drifted up, forming a halo around her mentor’s slicked back hair. “He’s been in there a while.” Rising from his plush, leather office chair, he tapped Ophelia’s forehead. “You’re still collecting rather than banishing, aren’t you?” He blew three rings, watched them float away, then pinned her with another cold, matter-of-fact stare.
“But if I see them,” she whispered, “I feel safe. In the jars, they can’t hurt me.”
The man sitting across from her was the real deal. Not just a tarot reader looking for a quick fifty bucks. Mother told her he was born in Vietnam. Spent a great deal of time studying shamanism as he made his way through India, the Middle East, Europe, and eventually here, to North America, where he’d studied with her mother, until she died from a brain aneurysm. When he gave her occult advice, she trusted it implicitly. In esoteric circles she once frequented, rumor had it he was her father, but he’d neither confirmed nor denied it.
“And what has this one done?” After crushing out his cigarette, he threw his hands up in the air. “This isn’t the first time one has gotten loose and embedded in your brain. You should be banishing the parasites, not binding them to this world. An extended stay only allows them more power over you. You know that. Not to mention, you’ve trapped their brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, in there. It’s inevitable they’ll come seeking revenge.”
She fidgeted with the hem of her sweater, looked away from his gaze that saw all within her. “They’re getting trickier. I lock the armoire every night. They’re still getting out.”
He sighed and rubbed his brow as he frowned. “And why do you suppose that is? Your lessons are sorely behind. Would it kill you to come to me once a week for our sessions? It’s been over a year. This isn’t like riding a bike, you know? Training is constant, and diligence is a must.”
Nodding, she huffed her red bangs out of her face. Now, would he throw the whole, “your mother would be so disappointed you’re not following in her footsteps,” spiel at her? She hoped not. Instead, he took a different track, but no relief came. His next question clenched a cold, tight fist around her stomach.
“Does Marta know about the inter-dimensional parasites you’re keeping in your mother’s armoire?” Xian’s eyebrow rose.
Copyright © 2011 Louise Bohmer. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be changed and/or distributed without the author’s permission.
Grab a copy for your Kindle now by clicking the book cover.
The impulse to collect springs from deep within the human psyche Squirrels gather acorns, rats collect shiny things, but only humans assign meaning to the objects they collect. Detritus is a collection of stories about the impulse to collect, preserve, and display gone horribly wrong.
Featuring: Kealan Patrick Burke, Jeremy C, Shipp, Mary Borsellino, Brent Michael Kelley, Phil Hickes, L.S. Murphy, Michael R. Colangelo, Neil Davies, Louise Bohmer, Edmund Colell, S.P. Miskowski, Michael Montoure, Lee Widener, Pete Clark, and Opal Edgar.
Paperback available from Omnium Gatherum for $13.99 (coming soon on Amazon).
Be sure to ‘like’ the book on its Kindle page. It helps up our ranking!

It’s release day for Detritus, featuring stories from Brent Kelley, Edmund Colell, Jeremy C Shipp, Kealan Patrick Burke, Lee Widener, L.S. Murphy, Louise Bohmer, Mary Borsellino, Michael Colangelo, Michael Montoure, Neil Davies, Opal Edgar, Pete Clark, Phil Hickes and S.P. Miskowski.
Grab a copy for your Kindle now by clicking the book cover above.
The impulse to collect springs from deep within the human psyche Squirrels gather acorns, rats collect shiny things, but only humans assign meaning to the objects they collect. Detritus is a collection of stories about the impulse to collect, preserve, and display gone horribly wrong.
Alphabetical listing:
Brent Michael Kelley Ride
Edmund Colell Shrieking Gauze
Jeremy Shipp Chewed up
Kealan Patrick Burke The Room Beneath the Stairs
Lee Widener Let Them Into Your Heart
L.S. Murphy The Tick-Tock Heart
Louise Bohmer Armoire
Mary Borsellino Shots and Cuts
Michael Colangelo Arkitektur
Michael Montoure Heroes and Villains
Neil Davies Candy Lady
Opal Edgar Crawling Insect Life
Pete Clark In His Own Graven Image
Phil Hickes Mrs. Grainger’s Animal Emporium
S.P Miskowski The Highest and the Sweetest
Paperback available from Omnium Gatherum for $13.99 (coming soon on Amazon). Click the OG logo to grab a print copy.
Tomorrow, I’ll be blogging an excerpt from my contribution to this fine anthology.

X-posted from the KHP Publishers site:
As of December 23, 2011, KHP Publishers (Koehler – Hintz & Partners Publishers, to be specific) is now incorporated, and going forward will be assuming the name KHP Publishers, Inc.
This decision was made for several reasons with the consideration of our maturing business model. Incorporating protects and separates our personal assets from business liabilities, while securing our name in the state we headquarter our operations. It gives our company peace of mind in terms of investments and contractual agreements that we structure on an annual basis.
Our business is constantly evolving. Annual profits for 2011 are up over 50% and operating expenses are down 53% from 2010. Removing our publishing overhead and converting the house to “digital only” have also been contributing factors.
We thank our authors, retailers, and most importantly, our customers for their continued support of KHP Publishers, Inc. We are excited for the new year and our upcoming publications from Black Death Books, Skullvines Press, Blasphemous Books, and Violet Ivy Press, and hope you are, too.
S.D. Hintz
CEO/Editor-in-Chief
KHP Publishers, Inc.