AustLit

'Sophie and Joseph’s escape from Northwood is short-lived. The beast survived, and attached itself to Joseph’s young cousin, Elise.

'Garrett writes to beg for their help. Joseph and Sophie travel to meet him at Kensington, a long-abandoned mansion that overlooks a dead town.

'The house offers a small hope: its original owner had dedicated her life to researching the monster that possesses Elise. Garrett hopes to find a way to kill the creature without harming his daughter.

'But Kensington is a dangerous building. Once the carriage leaves, they’re trapped inside the collapsing walls and forced to confront the horrors within.

'Shrouded figures stalk them. Whispers echo through the night. Unmarked graves dot the property.

'And the dead are not as restful as they seem…'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Humanity has fallen.

'It's a phrase everyone thinks, but no one dares speak.

'Barely two weeks following the Cymic Parasite invasion, Central's carefully orchestrated system of stations and communication networks is obliterated. Some estimates say more than a third of humanity is dead, and those who survive are counting the hours until the invasion arrives on their doorstep.

'Mitzi is a disgraced ex-military officer. In this new, desperate world, her dishonourable discharge is no longer a black mark against her employment, and she's managed to get a commission for one last job.

'Her mission is to attack a planet overrun by Cymics and detonate a fuel reservoir in an effort to kill them. If she fails, Central loses a vital communications centre, and its last retaliation efforts will collapse.

It's a crazy, desperate, reckless plan... just the kind Mitzi likes.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Maren's career isn't doing so great. She was trained as a defence technician - a specialised fighter commissioned to protect stations - but the only job she could get was as a maintenance worker on Station 334. She's not complaining, though. Not too much, anyway. She's made friends on the communications outpost, and the job isn't without thrills.

'But there are whispers of something terrible and deadly creeping closer...

'Gin, Maren's friend and 334's communications lead, has been receiving an exceptionally high number of emergency help requests from remote stations. Their governing body, Central, has lost contact with the response teams it sent. And a single frantic sound bite suggests humanity's situation is far more dire than anyone thought.

'Maren's defence training might prove useful after all.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Kala never wanted to be a hero. She was a junior scientist studying under the highly-respected Commander Stanos when her station was attacked.

'The threat is unlike anything Kala could have imagined: the aliens are fast, overwhelmingly strong and pathologically intent on killing any human they encounter. Worse, they have a flawless disguise. Once they kill a human, the aliens absorb its body and assume its skin.

'But Kala thinks she's discovered their weakness. And her knowledge might be humanity's only hope.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'For Charles, responding to Station 332's emergency help request starts out no different than any other mission. She's been paired with a near-retirement medic, Robin, and a lax mechanic, Jay. Their job is simple: check the station, kill any threats, provide assistance if needed, then return to Central.

'But this is unlike any assistance request Charles has been on before.

'Someone or something has destroyed the station, smashing the control panel and upending equipment. They find two dead bodies in the bedroom, and the third staff member is missing.

'Robin labels it a murder-suicide, but Charles has doubts.

'Something is killing Central's best fighters, leaving humanity defenceless. It's spreading quickly. And the danger lives closer to home than anyone ever expected...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'It wears our skin...

'Station 331, situated on a remote moon near at edge of the known system, isn't a prestigious place to work. Its three-person staff has one basic job: kill the plant-like lifeforms that come off space rubble and meteors.

'Jen just wants to get through her eight-month shift without going crazy from the tedium or her co-workers' bickering. That plan crumbles when Carly discovers a strange lifeform during a routine patrol.

'The small, fluid creature nestled in the base of a crater doesn't match any of the entries in their database. Protocol says they should call for backup, but Carly insists they can deal with the lifeform themselves.

'It's a simple choice for Jen, but her mistake will unleash unimaginable horror...

'...and the nearest help is three days away.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'In 1965, a young child went missing while he and his brother explored a disused cemetery. When his body was found floating in the river three days later, his older brother insisted the death wasn't an accident. That something dark and deadly lived in the cemetery's crypt. That it would kill again.

'More than fifty years later, Sara finds herself facing the gate to the abandoned graveyard, with the story of the dead child ringing in her ears. She's there with one specific purpose: to uncover the decades-old secrets of the crypt.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'On a cold winter morning, a delivery truck backs into the loading dock of a popular shopping mall. Inside are eight boxes waiting to be picked up by Jodie, the store manager. But something's not quite right about the delivery. Jodie can sense it as soon as she touches the large, coffin-shaped crates: something unnatural and dangerous is stored inside.

'Almost as soon as the crates are brought into the store, things start to go wrong. Customers seem reluctant to linger. Clothes are thrown off the racks during the middle of the night. And Jodie's co-workers stop answering their phones.

'As a deadly storm grows on the horizon, Jodie begins to realise just how dangerous the unknown can be.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'There's something in the walls...

'Erica's parents were delighted at how cheap their new house was. It's a large stone building in a nice part of town, but for some reason its occupants never seemed to stay for long.

'When Erica discovers a door hidden behind the wallpaper in her room, she assumes it's a small crawlspace. There's nothing unusual about it... except for the quiet tapping noise she can hear late at night.

'As she learns more about the house's dark history, Erica realises her family might have bought much more than they'd bargained for...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Sophie’s world is shattered when disaster bankrupts her family. She’s still reeling from the news when she’s offered an unexpected solution: Mr Argenton, a wealthy stranger, asks for her hand in marriage.

'Marrying Mr Argenton will restore her family’s fortunes and save them from scandal, but condemns Sophie to a life in Northwood, a vast and unnaturally dark mansion situated hours from civilisation.

'Sophie struggles to adjust to her new position as mistress over the desolate house. Mr Argenton’s relatives are cold, and Mr Argenton himself is keeping secrets. Even worse, the house is more than it seems.

'Mr Argenton’s young cousin, Elise, draws terrifying images. Doors slam. Inhuman figures slink through the forest surrounding the house. A piano plays in the middle of the night. Blood drips from the ceilings.

'Sophie is inevitably pulled towards the terrifying truth: Northwood’s ancient halls are haunted by the family’s long-dead ancestors. The malevolent spirits—produced by grisly deaths—resent her intrusion into their home.

'Trapped in Northwood and desperate for an escape, Sophie’s fate is further complicated as she finds herself irrevocably drawn to the tall, dark-eyed man she married. She suspects her feelings are returned, but Mr Argenton is hiding the truth about the house—and his secrets are so dangerous that they might just be unforgivable.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Collection of new and previously published short stories.

'Keep the door locked...

'A week's visit to the remote Harob Lake cabin couldn't have come at a better time for Sam.

'She's battling artist's block ahead of a major gallery exhibition. Staying at Harob Lake is her final, desperate attempt to paint the collection that could save her floundering career. It seems perfect: no neighbours, no phone, no distractions.

'But the dream retreat disintegrates into a nightmare when Sam discovers she's being stalked.

'A tall, strange man stands on the edge of her dock, staring intently into the swirling waters below. He starts to follow her. He disables her car. He destroys her only way to communicate with the outside world.

'And Sam is beginning to suspect he's responsible for the series of disappearances from a nearby hiking trail.

'Stranded at Harob Lake, Sam realises she’s become the prey in the hunter’s deadliest game…'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Some houses breathe...

'Elle is thrilled to spend a month minding the beautiful Gillespie property. More than an hour's drive from the nearest town and surrounded by forests, the ageing mansion is ideal for someone seeking solitude.

'But things start to go very wrong, very quickly.

'Elle discovers a crumbling graveyard nestled in the woods. It contains a generation of the house's residents, all with an identical year of death.

'Scratching in the walls... slamming doors... whispers in the night... a locked room...

'As Elle explores deeper into the house, she begins to unravel the property's dark and dangerous history. At its centre is Jonathan Gillespie, a tyrannical cult leader and the house's original owner.

'And as Elle soon learns - just because he's dead, doesn't mean he's gone.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Could you survive a week in a haunted house?

'Mara is the daughter of spiritualists. Her childhood was filled with séances, scam mediums and talk of ghostly presences.

'When Mara finally left her family’s home, she vowed she would never allow superstition or false religion into her life again. Now she’s ready to start over with her fiancé, Neil, in a world based on rationality and facts.

'But her past isn’t ready to let her go just yet.

'Mara and Neil purchase Blackwood House, a derelict property outside of town. They’re warned about strange occurrences in the crumbling building. Doors open by themselves, voices whisper in the night, bloody handprints appear on the walls, and cold spots linger in the basement, where the house’s original owner was murdered.

'But Blackwood was dirt-cheap and came with a large plot of overgrown land. Mara loves her new home, and disregards the warnings.

'Because ghosts aren’t real…

'…are they?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The Basement Run is the most feared job in the office. When you’re sent to retrieve files from the abandoned, lightless, decaying Sub Basement, you’re likely to come out with a story or two. Rats, strange noises, and perhaps something much, much worse lurk in the building’s deepest level, and the longer you spend down there, the stranger your tales become...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'There’s something in the woods…

'It’s been ten years since Anna’s parents last took her camping in Morrow Woods. This trip is a final pilgrimage for her, a chance to visit her father’s much-loved forest on the anniversary of his death.

'At least, that’s what Anna planned. A lot has changed in the last decade.

'A fence has been constructed around the wood’s perimeter and the campers’ parking lot has been closed. Inside the forest, Anna finds trees that have been scarred with deep gashes, almost as though they’d been attacked. As she pushes deeper into the woods and daylight fades, she starts to hear strange and horrific animal calls… and the creature that calls the woods home begins to stalk its prey.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'When Mark agrees to rent the basement, he knows it has problems. It's dark, has no mobile reception, and is cluttered with storage boxes. But it's cheap, and there's no lease – which is perfect for a student who's been kicked out by his ex-girlfriend.

'Well, nearly perfect.

'There's a mannequin hidden behind some old boxes that gives him the creeps. Sometimes it throws its dust cloth off. Sometimes he feels it watching him when his back is turned. And sometimes it moves while he's asleep...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'When Jenine finds an abandoned Polaroid camera in a lighthouse, she takes a photo for fun. But there's something very, very wrong with the picture: it contains ghosts.

'Jenine and her best friend, Bree, realise the camera is capable of capturing the dead. But with each new photo taken, the spectres become more aware and more alert, and begin stalking the friends. Desperate, they seek the help of a paranormal researcher. But his news isn't good: they've meddled with a supernatural power far beyond their control, and the ghosts won't stop... not until Jenine and Bree are dead.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Carol’s husband, Jon, went missing while hiking in the extensive Harob forest. Searches over the following five days failed to find him, and he was assumed dead from exposure.

'Two weeks later, Jon knocks on the front door of their home. Carol wants to accept his return as a miracle, but there are too many unanswered questions. Why is he so hostile? Why didn't he contact her sooner? How did he get the bloodstains on his shirt?

'And the most disturbing question: is the man sleeping next to her really her husband?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.