Brian Paone

Leo loves staying at the pet hotel. There are toys, treats, and most of all, his best friend Red. But this visit feels different. From Leo's room, he can see a creepy, broken-down house on the hill. The dogs call it The Scary Place... and they're pretty sure it's haunted. When Red reveals a secret wish-to be like all their humans in Get Haunted and catch a real ghost-Leo and a ragtag pack of pets decide to do something very brave... and very risky. Sneak out. Cross the road. And step inside The Scary Place. What they find is stranger and scarier than they ever imagined, as ghostly animals whisper warnings from dark hallways. Somewhere in the house, something far worse and more evil than they could ever imagine waits for the old grandfather clock to strike midnight so it can awaken. And it knows Leo is there. Will Leo and his friends escape before the clock's final chime... or will The Scary Place keep them forever? The Scary Place is a spooky, heartfelt adventure about friendship, courage, and being brave when it matters most, told through the eyes of unforgettable animal heroes. Perfect for readers who want their stories to bite back just a little.

When she visits a haunted prison, what will she find in the deadly small hours? Hannah is driven to right her wrongs. After a drunken 21st birthday dare left her with a shadow figure always around, the now-sober 28-year-old resolves to return to the scene of the crime. Determined to give back an eerie stolen piece of possessed fabric, she attends a phantom-hunting event with her best friend Christian, run by Get Haunted, at the Missouri State Penitentiary ... to spend the night. Going from one creepy location to another in the dark hours, Hannah watches Christian experience increasingly spine-chilling incidents one after the other. And when she can't remember where the object belongs and tries one last cell, a vengeful specter refuses to let them leave ... She may have walked in ... but will she walk back out with her life? Intent on crafting a perfectly authentic and scary setting, author Brian Paone spent eight weeks writing this ghost-hunt-gone-wrong story from empty cells inside the Missouri State Penitentiary. And as he takes us to where his imagination ran wild while typing in the pitch blackness of night, fans of the genre will soon discover that same hair-raising thrill. These Walls Still Talk is a deliciously macabre horror novel. If you like characters to root for, ghoulish goosebumps, and insidious intentions, you'll love Brian Paone's frightful venture. Buy These Walls Still Talk today to hear the whispers of those left behind

A power-hungry megacorporation. A gang of cyberpunk rebels in their sights. A teen who may be the world's salvation, if hired killers don't get to him first. The far future. Adam dreams of simpler times. Running with a crew of underground cyberpunks, the nineteen-year-old plays it fast and loose as he and his team plot to overthrow the megacorporation Cyber-Corp, who is dangling an escape from poverty-but at a terrible cost. But when the establishment's assassin takes Adam's side after noticing his strangely colored eyes, Adam finds himself entangled in a mysterious prophecy. One that could span the multiverse-where the seven colors of the rainbow represent each universe. Determined to fulfill his role in saving the planet, the young freedom fighter dodges hitmen and forges into the wastelands in search of his destiny. But after taking refuge in a resistance haven, Adam is horrified he may have led his people into a deathtrap when pitiless enemies unleash a robotic attack. As hope fades and death looms, will he sacrifice everything to end the tyranny? Tomorrow People is a gripping cybernetic dystopian novel. If you like resilient heroes, high-tech plots, and explosive action, then you'll love Brian Paone's visionary tale. Buy Tomorrow People to hack fate today

20 SHORT STORIES OF WHEN THE MACABRE & HUMANITY CLASH Massive spiders attack a hotel. A ghost cat that's part of a paranormal revenge scheme. Two gunslingers refuse to duel. A haunted marine base flightline. A witch barista. A rattlesnake bite that creates multiverses. A fortune teller who is always right and always wrong. A dead, newlywed werewolf in a drainpipe. A mermaid whose captor is using her tail for meat ... What do they all have in common? Music inspired the stories in this collection. Some songs are mainstream; others are obscure. Regardless of whether you know the songs, these tales will make you laugh, gasp, tremble, and fill you with childlike nostalgia, while you pull the bedsheets to your eyes to check once more that your closet door isn't still creaking open by itself ... List of artists who I adapted for these stories: Moby, Jethro Tull, Porcupine Tree, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Nine Inch Nails, The The, Kenny Rogers, Stanford Prison Experiment, The Police, Quicksand, Peter Gabriel, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Tori Amos, And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, The Who, Live, Panic at the Disco, Queen, R. E. M., & Neil Diamond.

All he wants is to get home alive. But when he barely escapes a violent ambush, can he survive a deadly race across the city? San Francisco, October 1989. Bennett Jacobs is okay with being square. With a loving spouse for company, the introverted software engineer doesn't want or need to turn strangers into friends. But after the wife drags him kicking and screaming to a pool party, he reveals his computer smarts to a flamboyant artist dealing a popular street drug... and his life goes from blas to bonkers. Arriving at his new acquaintance's place to hack the encryption on a stolen floppy disk, Bennett is stunned when a rival gang tries to kill them for the formula. And after he discovers something isn't right about the ingredients, the frightened programmer finds himself on the run from both the criminals and the cops. Can Bennett dodge the bullets and change this homicidal affair back to boring? Packet Man is a gripping urban crime thriller. If you like ordinary heroes, tense action, and authentic Eighties backdrops, then you'll love Brian Paone's treacherous sprint around the Bay. Buy Packet Man to fast track to funkytown today

From Scout Media comes An Election of Words, the eighth volume in an ongoing short story anthology series featuring authors from all over the world. In this installation, no limits were set on genre; however, the authors had to incorporate an election or a voting process into the plotline, from electing a school president, to electing a Mom of the Year, to intergalactic council members, the controversial presidential elections. Within these moments of debates and elections, these stories will warm your heart, send shivers down your spine, and tickle your funny bone. Whether to be enlightened, entertained, or momentarily immersed in another world, these selections convey the true spirit of short stories.

Family. The Job. The Thrill of a Trilogy. It'll Take a Miracle to Survive. The black-veiled witch Anya and her army of ghouls aren't used to being hunted-especially by her prodigies. In the final installment of the Moonlight City Drive trilogy, all the players are forced into a final showdown. Killers vs Detectives. Warlocks vs Vultures. Teenagers vs Witches. Psychics vs Ghouls. Everyone knows it's the end of the road, and the city is certainly alive tonight. Melissa Smith, the granddaughter of the infamous Wharf Killer, wrestles with either following in her grandfather's footsteps and continue to eradicate the dames of the night or redeem herself and use her powers for good. Returning to Las Vegas to revisit where the beginning of her family's involvement in the witch's mission occurred, Melissa will have to kill or relinquish her prominent status within the Mushroom Cult. Whichever her decision, she will need the help of innocent bystanders and invested mystics and commit to her destiny or finally end Anya's reign. Who will get out alive?

From Scout Media comes A Bond of Words--the sixth volume in an ongoing short story anthology series featuring authors from all over the world. In this installment, the authors delved into multi-genre tales about the importance of, and sometimes the danger of creating bonds with one another. From comedy, to drama, fantasy, romance, and sci-fi, these stories explore the strength or frailty of the bonds we find may define who we are. Tackling racism, death row, a first kiss, marriages, and our unavoidable bond with technology in everyday life, plus a multitude of other topics and unique spins, these stories will warm your heart, send shivers down your spine, and tickle your funny bone. Whether to be enlightened, entertained, or momentarily immersed in another world, these selections convey the true spirit of the short story and the complexity of the bonds we make with the people and places of the world around us.

Family. The Job. The Thrill of a Sequel. It's Take a Miracle to Survive. Detective Smith thought his golden years would be easy now that he had retired from killing dames of the night. But the life he left behind isn't through with him ... yet. The black-veiled witch Anya and her army of ghouls make different plans when Smith's hotshot replacement fails to appease Anya and botches her century-old tradition of cleansing the streets of its deviants and filth. Anya sets her sights on a new prot g --Smith's teenage granddaughter, Melissa. In this sequel to Moonlight City Drive, good is pitted against evil, granddaughters pitted against grandfathers, witches pitted against detectives, ghouls pitted against prostitutes, drug dealers pitted against police officers, vultures pitted against a book of spells. No one gets out alive.

From Scout Media comes A Flash of Words--the fifth volume in an ongoing short story anthology series featuring authors from all over the world, but the first in which the stories are exclusively flash-fiction pieces. In this installation, no limits were set on genre, allowing the authors to lead the reader to destinations unknown; from ghosts on a flight line, to not-so-cuddly poodles, to finding love in the most unexpected of places. Within these moments of retribution and redemption--along with a slightly confused bear--these flash-fiction length stories will warm your heart, send shivers down your spine, and tickle your funny bone. Whether to be enlightened, entertained, or momentarily immersed in another world, these selections convey the true spirit of flash fiction.

From Scout Media comes A Contract of Words--the fourth volume in an ongoing short story anthology series featuring authors from all over the world. In this installment, the authors wove multi-genre tales around characters entering into contracts, who found repercussions or rewards. From comedy, to drama, fantasy, romance, and horror, these stories put eclectic and unusual spins on what is usually thought to be typical and mundane events. Whether you are honoring a request for euthanasia, satisfying a contract for home improvement, failing to meet an exorcism agreement, or feeling the ramifications of a shady television reality show, you may find yourself gripped with fear from an evil pyramid-scheme company or desperately searching for a loophole in a contract that pits you against a gunslinger at high noon. These stories of both infringement and fulfillment of contracts will warm your heart, send shivers down your spine, and tickle your funny bone. Whether to be enlightened, entertained, or momentarily immersed in another world, these selections convey the true spirit of the short story and the complexity of promises.

Snapshot in the parking lot. Man and woman embrace. Betrayal, I see it every day, like my own reflection in the mirror staring back at me. Another case, another bottle of booze, life is no longer a mystery to me ... ... Because I'm the private eye, hot on your trail; the top gun for hire. You'll find me lurking in the shadows, always searching for a clue. I'm the bulletproof detective. I got my eye on you ... What's a little sin under the covers, what's a little blood between lovers? What's a little death to be discovered, cold stiff body under the covers? I'm digging you a desert grave, underneath the burning sun. You won't be found by anyone. Vultures circle in the sky, and you my dear are the reason why. ... I was always easily influenced.