Aaron Conaway

It was an age of adventure. An age of sorcery. An age of unrelenting horror. Sword and sorcery and pulp horror go hand-in-hand. Sinister enchanters working foul magic. Hideous beasts lurking in shadowy dungeons. Blasphemous elder gods uncoiling from forgotten and forbidden temples. Swords in the Shadows features twenty-one stories with a bloody stake driven into the heart of both the horror and fantasy camps. Herein, you will find fantasy worlds, brave warriors, fabulous creatures, wondrous magic. But you will also uncover bloodcurdling chills, spine-tingling horror, and an examination of those things that truly terrify.

The Kingdom. Once a significant midwestern city on Earth-That-Was, but no more. A series of hard-won baronies built in its place, The Kingdom stands as one of the last vestiges of humanity. Cicero is in the barony of Renaissance in her capacity as a Bard-peacekeeper, lawmaker, and beyond. Criminal activity has been showing an uptick in frequency throughout The Known Lands, and the Bards, in response, are trying to increase their recruitment numbers. Banesska's Traveling Game-a wandering holdover from Earth-That-Was-equal parts circus, professional sports tournament, and county fair, is playing consort to Cicero as she travels. After an accident at an underground site, Wade Batalon, a young Digger, has a mysterious encounter. Meanwhile, Kendra Lawden and her best friend, Sepia de Winter, get wrapped up in the machinations of a crime lord within The Kingdom and zealous raiders without. Cicero tries to maintain order and unite the baronies to a common cause, but how much can one Bard take?

Penned by acclaimed horror novelist Michael Gideon, these tales are perfect for the Halloween season Sour Mutters - What horrors live in Winter Wood? Edimmu - What ancient evil hitched a ride out of the desert? Imaginary Friend - So many kids go through this stage. It's a phase, right? Nothing to fear? Twelve Days - A love letter to the works of Lovecraft and Poe, just in time for the holidays All of this and more, so get cozy, turn down the lights, and embrace another round of horror from Michael Gideon.

Jedidiah Coalstream, the motorcycle mystic, is mapping out the Unknown Land -- what once had been The United States -- when he begins having strange dreams. Nightmares, warning him away from Border Town in the north. Which is why he decides to go check it out. But, traveling the land isn't as easy as all that. Many monsters, countless dangers, and restless spirits lie between here and there. Is Jedidiah's magic up to the challenge?

Who doesn't enjoy a nice, spooky story told around a campfire or by candlelight? Or fun little tales about monsters, particularly at Halloween Tales For Halloween covers both ends of that spectrum, from chilling to goofy. Four tribute shots to the monsters of yesteryear, and two fright-filled short stories; Spookhunt, and I Live Here Now. Spookhunt: The forest was haunted. It was known. Health-conscious hikers and bikers might skirt the forest's edge, but few ventured inside. Because of the hauntings. Like many such sites around the world, just what was in the woods changed from generation to generation. Great-grandparents had feared an alleged farm filled with crazed albinos. Grandparents, however, were terrified of an escaped lunatic who roamed those same woods in a gorilla mask, killing indiscriminately any who crossed his path. Parents, meanwhile, had screamed at the trees to avoid the Goatman, who had honest-to-God been seen by the friend of a friend's cousin once. However, this generation was savvier than their ancestors had been. Feeling nearly invincible, with their smartphones and Internet. Nothing was in those woods that Google couldn't disprove. So they often went into the woods - drinking what they could steal, smoking whatever they got their hands on - laughingly daring whatever was there to show itself. Until it did.* * *I Live Here NowIt's Halloween night at Wyngarde Manor. The annual party, with all the trappings, is taking place. An old house -- the hands that built it long dead -- Wyngarde Manor knows you're there. It sees you inside, skittering along its rooms and hallways. Usually, you'd be safe between its walls. However, the house is sick. Someone has poisoned it with murderous intent, and now it must act accordingly. None may see morning.* * *Monsters, a house that's aware, and creepy things in the woods, all brought to you by one Michael Gideon.

** Continue reading The Chronicles of Timberhaven in this short story collection **Timberhaven, where magic, music, and make-believe entwine with art and physics. Its citizens are few but varied: Lord Jarboe, caretaker of Tater Town. Mahin Shirazi, storyteller and world traveler. Juniper Soot, eight-year-old wunderkind and fledgling scientist. Calithan, purveyor of dreams and nightmares. These are but a few whose tales are told herein, and they are all of them unprepared for the dark days coming to Timberhaven. Are the bonds of family and friendship going to be enough to see them through?** Before The Weaver is set up to a year before the events that take place in Waking The Weaver (and one tale that takes place during ) *

*** Waking The Weaver is the prelude to the upcoming Roshambo Trilogy, also by Aaron Conaway ***All small towns have secrets. But Timberhaven's secrets may mean the end of us all. Michael Gideon is a bestselling author actively ignoring the problems in his life: his alcoholism, how the recent loss of his sister is affecting him, and a nagging feeling, just at the back of his mind that there's something. . . off. He's come to the small village of Timberhaven in hopes of recovering his passion for writing in time to pen his latest book. Timberhaven has other ideas. Within days of arriving, Michael no longer feels himself. The very thought of booze makes him nauseous and he has to convince himself that the mirror in his rented manor isn't watching him. Even more puzzling, while Michael explores the streets of Timberhaven some locals seem to already know him. Michael is further pulled into the mythology of Timberhaven when a clandestine group of unelected town officials holds a gathering, resulting in an arcane election for a role they think perfectly suited for Michael. Waking The Weaver is a modern day urban fantasy presented in the form of Michael's journal entries. Join Michael as he explores Timberhaven, a magical village that exists at the crossroads of science and magic, fiction and reality."